Saumlaus overføring og helsefremmande effektar for mor og barn etter fødsel. Ein eksplorativ, longitudinell studie av samanhengar.

Background: In most maternity wards in Norway, early discharge (less than 48h) has become standard for women in confinement and their babies. To monitor babies and women's health the first week after delivery, several hospitals are offering consultations, were families need to return to the hospital for check-up. A few municipalities offer domiciliary follow-up by midwifes, were agreements between the hospital and municipality ensure seamless services for the family after childbirth. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore relationships between different follow-up strategies in the postpartum period, and health promoting effects. Method: This is a non-experimental, longitudinal study with non- randomized groups. Secondary data from the Liten i Norge" study was used to compare the two different follow-up strategies, in two municipalities. The main outcomes were postpartum depression and breastfeeding. In addition the groups within one of the health services was compared to see if the seamless follow-up had included vulnerable families. Results: The groups were compared with regards to sociodemographic variables and score on Edinburgh postnatal depression score (EPDS) before birth. After birth there were no differences between the groups neither on EPDS nor on breastfeeding. On the other hand the study showed that seamless follow-up included all women with scores over cut-off measured by adverse life events. Conclusion: Other measures on health promoting effects than postpartum depression and breastfeeding, may lead to different outcomes when comparing two different follow-up strategies. However, results show that vulnerable families joined domiciliary care, which can indicate that this type of follow-up is regarded as safe and supportive and non-stigmatizing