Postnatal care: is it based on ritual or a purpose? a reflective account

Postnatal care has for too long been the C inderella of thechildbirth continuum and marginalized within maternity careservices. Most women in the U K are hospitalized after givingbirth and spend time on a postnatal ward. Women tend to viewthis aspect of their childbirth journey as the least satisfying,and in-depth analysis as to the reasons for this perspective islimited. T his article presents a thought-provoking debate onpostnatal hospital care and is underpinned by data that haveemerged from observing postnatal wards as part of a largerresearch study. T wo main points are pursued: reflections oncarrying out ‘fieldwork’ and the notion that postnatal care isbecoming deficient in purpose. Questions are raised as to theintention of hospitalization after birth, given the culture andcontext of a busy ward. Many factors impinge upon the woman’sexperience of the postnatal ward: the availability of midwives,the status/value of postnatal work and having enough timeto spend with women on a busy ward. H owever, the essenceof midwifery and intention of postnatal care must not be lost.Evidence to support postnatal care by midwives needs to bevisible