Initiating Occupational and Physical Therapy in the Hospital After Birth: Access, Reimbursement, and Outcomes

Abstract

Acute care therapists routinely screen body systems, activity tolerance, safe mobility, activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living performance, cognition, caregiver support, home environment, and risk factors for hospital readmission. Despite most elective procedures, such as joint replacement and spine surgery, which receive automatic orders for acute care therapy, individuals who elect to give birth in a hospital are typically not offered rehabilitation services to optimize their recovery. Across hospitals in the United States, individuals receiving obstetric care have limited access to acute care therapy despite increasing postpartum readmission rates, severe maternal morbidity, and disproportionate levels of maternal mortality. Cardiovascular conditions, infection, and hemorrhage remain the leading causes of death in the obstetric population during the first 6 weeks postpartum. However, individuals are frequently discharged from the hospital after birth without a formal assessment by an acute care occupational or physical therapist. Extensive education to maternal care providers on obstetric rehabilitation is needed to improve outcomes after hospital birth with inpatient occupational and physical therapy. Supplemental video abstract available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfdU-1DuQiM.