Co‑producing a maternal postnatal check toolkit for the 6–8 week appointment

Project title

Co‑producing a maternal postnatal check toolkit for the 6–8 week appointment

Description

Persistent inequalities remain in the delivery of the maternal 6–8 week postnatal check, despite NHS England guidance and NICE recommendations. This appointment is the only routine postnatal health check for mothers following discharge from midwifery services, yet audits show it is frequently deprioritised or inconsistently delivered, with greater focus placed on the infant rather than the mother. These issues are particularly pronounced in underserved and ethnically diverse communities. 

Variation in current postnatal checks

A 2025 audit across 12 GP practices in the Burmantofts, Harehills, and Richmond Hill (BHR) Primary Care Network in Leeds, where over 80% of the population live in the most deprived areas, highlighted wide variation in how maternal postnatal checks are delivered, recorded, and supported.

Mothers often perceived the appointment as being “for the baby,” while GPs reported time constraints and limited confidence in addressing pelvic health, contraception, birth trauma, safeguarding, and bereavement, particularly where language or literacy barriers exist. This project responds to these challenges by focusing on equity, consistency, and co‑production in primary care. 

A co-produced toolkit

This project will co‑produce a Maternal Postnatal Check Toolkit in partnership with the BHR Primary Care Network, practitioners, and service users. The toolkit is designed to support consistent, inclusive delivery of the 6-8 week maternal postnatal check across 12 GP practices. It brings together practitioner‑facing resources, such as a Leeds ICB consultation template aligned with NHS guidance, referral prompts, and implementation guidance, with patient‑facing resources that clearly explain the purpose and value of the postnatal check. 

Image: The Maternal Postnatal Check Toolkit, a unified resource for practitioners and patients, designed to improve consistency, accessibility, and engagement with the maternal postnatal check.

A resource accessible for all

Patient resources will be culturally sensitive, available in multiple languages, and hosted on the Women’s Health Hub webpage, with QR codes embedded into appointment communications. Listening groups with GPs and service users will inform the design and refinement of all materials. Implementation will be supported through training resources and monitoring of uptake using audit data and digital engagement metrics. The project combines quality improvement, co‑production, and service evaluation methods to generate practical learning for local and wider NHS maternity systems.

Impact

Our anticipated impacts include:

• More equitable access to high‑quality maternal postnatal care
• Improved consistency of delivery across GP practices, enhanced GP confidence, and improved patient experience - particularly for women facing additional barriers to care
• Longer‑term impacts, including informing local and national maternity strategies and supporting wider adoption of the toolkit.