Abstract
The postpartum period is associated with a high prevalence of maternal mortality and morbidity, particularly among rural communities. This study aimed to identify differences in the perceived benefit of the postpartum visit among participants in rural and non-rural counties. This cross-sectional study recruited postpartum mothers from counties in north-central Florida. Participants completed an online survey focused on experiences during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Eligibility criteria included being at least 18 and giving birth to a healthy, full-term, singleton infant in the past year. Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the differences in mothers from rural versus non-rural counties. Participants (N = 91) lived in rural (n = 18) and non-rural counties (n = 73), and most attended the postpartum visit (93.8% of rural and 97.2% of non-rural participants). Rural participants reported higher scores in receiving information on health services (4.24 vs. 3.6, p = 0.02), physical health (4.24 vs. 3.43, p = 0.01), and mood changes (3.71 vs. 3.21, p = 0.14) compared to non-rural participants. Rural participants perceived greater benefits from the postpartum visit than non-rural participants, highlighting the need to explore why attendance rates at this visit are often low for mothers from rural counties. These results support the need to restructure postpartum care to meet the needs of mothers from all areas and make policy changes to support mothers. Future research should explore the individual barriers and facilitators to postpartum care for those in rural versus non-rural areas.