Professor Amanda Henry
The George Institute for Global Health
Both maternal and fetal complications of pregnancy, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and fetal growth restriction, have implications for future pregnancies as well as ongoing maternal and child health. However, postpartum/interpregnancy maternal care in Australia/Aotearoa New Zealand and globally in general remains fragmented and only concerned with immediate post-pregnancy recovery, with care beyond 6-8 weeks postpartum almost exclusively focussed on the infant. This talk will summarise implications of outcomes of a prior pregnancy on subsequent pregnancies (with a focus on medical complications of pregnancy), what evidence exists regarding effective care in the interpregnancy interval, and how to approach optimising the interpregnancy interval.