A Gap in Care? Postpartum Women Presenting to the Emergency Room and Getting Readmitted

The average proportion of women presenting for an emergent hospital encounter in the immediate 42-day postpartum period is 5.7%. Nearly 40% of emergent hospital encounters resulted in admission and the rate increased from to 2.0 to 3.4% over the study period. The most common reasons for presentation were fever, abdominal pain, headache, vaginal bleeding, wound concerns, and hypertension. Hypertension, wound complications, and endometritis accounted for the top three admission diagnoses.