When Vancouver mom Jennifer Kane* went for her six-week postpartum checkup, she and her OB/GYN briefly discussed her stitches from a second-degree tear, which were healing well but had left a bit of a bulge of skin. ?He said it might cause some pain during sex, but that it could be corrected after I have my next baby.? But Kane didn?t know if she wanted another baby. ?And I obviously hadn?t had sex yet, so I didn?t know if that was a problem.?
?Looking back, I?m extremely disappointed with the care that I got at that appointment,? says Kane. It wasn?t just that the visit was quick, or that the OB/GYN was matter-of-fact?she didn?t feel cared for.
It?s standard for women in Canada and the US who give birth with an OB/GYN to have a checkup six weeks after birth. The appointment involves a physical exam and discussion about any complications that occurred during the birth, as well as your recovery so far. ?They ask about how you?re doing in terms of any pain you have, healing with your scar if you had a C-section and if you had a vaginal delivery, any issues with your perineum,? says Sheryl Choo, a fellow in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Western University and a member of the maternal fetal medicine guidelines committee for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecolgists of Canada. They?ll also ask if you?re peeing and pooping normally, if you?re doing well with breastfeeding (if you?re nursing) and how you?re feeling. This appointment is usually when you get t...