Key points
- The postnatal period runs from birth to six weeks (42 days) after birth (WHO, 2022).
- WHO's 2022 guideline has 63 recommendations and a minimum of four postnatal contacts: within 24 hours, 48–72 hours, 7–14 days, and week six.
- Healthy women and newborns should stay in the health facility for at least 24 hours after a vaginal birth (WHO, 2022).
- The 2022 guideline covers screening for and prevention of maternal depression — postnatal mental health is part of postnatal care, not separate from it.
Direct answer: Postnatal care is the care a mother and her newborn receive after birth — from birth to six weeks (42 days) after birth. WHO's 2022 guideline, with 63 recommendations, sets a minimum of four postnatal contacts: within 24 hours, between 48 and 72 hours, between days 7 and 14, and during week six after birth. Healthy women and newborns should stay in the health facility for at least 24 hours after a vaginal birth. This page is awareness only: it explains the model, and it gives no advice for any individual mother or baby.
The model: four contacts in six weeks
The model is WHO’s, from the recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience (2022), which updates and expands the 2014 recommendations. The postnatal period is defined as the period immediately following the birth of the newborn to six weeks (42 days) after birth. The foundation of the model is a minimum of four postnatal care contacts. First, ongoing care and monitoring in the first 24 hours after birth, as part of continuous care in the health facility or at home — a minimum 24-hour stay following a facility-based vaginal birth is recommended. The second contact occurs between 48 and 72 hours after birth; the third between days 7 and 14; and the fourth during week six after birth. If birth is at home, the first postnatal contact should be as early as possible, and no later than 24 hours after birth. The guideline’s 63 recommendations cover maternal care, newborn care and health systems together — the woman-newborn dyad is at the centre of the model.
Why the first days matter
The first days after birth are when the risks are highest for both mother and baby. For mothers, the major complications that cause about 75% of maternal deaths — severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure — mostly strike after childbirth. For newborns, the first 28 days carry 47% of all under-five deaths, and the most dangerous days are the first ones. That is why the first contact is within 24 hours and the second within 48–72 hours: the schedule is built around the risk, not around convenience. The companion guides on safe childbirth and newborn care cover the birth and the baby’s first month; this page covers the six weeks that follow both.
Postnatal mental health
This section is the home for the gap the research found. WHO’s 2022 postnatal guideline covers screening for — and prevention of — maternal depression as part of postnatal care. Postnatal mental health is part of postnatal care, not separate from it: the same contacts that check bleeding, blood pressure and the baby also screen for depression. This page states that and goes no further into postnatal mental health as a topic of its own — there is no separate postnatal-mental-health page, and none is built here. The adult mental health guides on this site cover depression and anxiety awareness, and the stigma guide covers asking for help; this page links to them rather than duplicating them. For a personal question about mood after birth, the routes are a clinician and the official routes in the Wellbeing Support Directory.
What this page does not do
This page does not list danger signs as a self-check list. Sources that cover postnatal care for parents list danger signs after birth — severe headache, blurred vision, swelling, fits — and reproducing that list here would turn an awareness page into a self-check, which is outside this site’s scope. The WHO guideline’s recommendation on danger signs is that parents and families should be encouraged to seek health care early if they identify any; the signs themselves belong in the guideline and in national guidance, linked from here, not copied here. The page also does not advise on breastfeeding, contraception or physical activity after birth, although the guideline covers all three — those are matters for a clinician.
Frequently asked questions
What is postnatal care, and how long does it last?
Care for mother and newborn from birth to six weeks (42 days) after birth, in at least four contacts (WHO, 2022).
When are the postnatal contacts?
Within 24 hours, between 48–72 hours, between days 7–14, and during week six after birth (WHO, 2022).
Does postnatal care include mental health?
Yes. WHO's 2022 guideline covers screening for and prevention of maternal depression as part of postnatal care.