Before you need it

Prepare for the part no one prepares you for.

Postpartum support works better when the first decisions are not made while you are hurting, frightened, or running on no sleep. Use this during pregnancy—or in any calmer moment—to make the next step easier to reach.

Five calm-moment decisions

A small plan now can remove decisions later.

You do not need a perfect birth plan, a large village, or every answer. Start with the first unfinished step. Use the links only when they help.

Symptoms override every plan.

These are educational preparation prompts—not medical advice, diagnosis, screening, monitoring, emergency care, or a required schedule. New, worsening, severe, urgent, or worrying symptoms should be addressed when they occur.

Warning signs I need help now

THE VILLAGE AFTER BIRTH · BEFORE YOU NEED IT

My postpartum readiness guide

thevillageafterbirth.org/prepare · Content and source links updated August 25, 2026

START WITH WHAT IS NOT READY

Five things worth deciding before birth.

This is not a score. It is a way to notice the next useful conversation.

Know what should never wait.

Review urgent maternal warning signs during pregnancy and through one year after pregnancy ends. Save 911, 988, and TLC-MAMA before exhaustion makes searching harder.

Review urgent warning signs →

Leave with an after-hours care path.

Ask who handles concerns after office hours, how to reach maternity triage, when your first postpartum contact should happen, and whether your history or pregnancy changes the timing.

Open the pregnancy-to-first-year path →

Protect the mother’s essentials.

Put food, water, medicines, pain care, sleep, mental health, appointment transport, and time to use the bathroom or shower into the plan—not only baby supplies.

Build a whole-woman support plan →

Move one complete job off her plate.

Choose who will notice, plan, finish, and report back on meals, laundry, rides, other children, pets, visitors, or a protected rest window without waiting to be managed.

Build a complete handoff →

Make the backup plan honest.

Name cost, distance, language, disability access, work, food, housing, privacy, safety, or having no reliable helper now. A useful plan must fit the life you actually have.

Account for real-life barriers →

SAVE THESE BEFORE YOU NEED THEM

Three different levels of live help.

EMERGENCY OR IMMEDIATE DANGER

911

Use emergency help for immediate danger, inability to stay safe, severe confusion or loss of reality, or life-threatening symptoms.

Call 911

MENTAL-HEALTH CRISIS

988

Call or text for free, confidential crisis support when there is not immediate danger requiring 911.

Call 988 Text 988

MATERNAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

1-833-TLC-MAMA

Call, text, or use web chat for free, confidential support from a trained maternal mental-health counselor. This independent hotline is not a crisis line.

Call Text Web chat ↗

TAKE THIS TO A PRENATAL VISIT

Ask before the appointment ends.

Write the answers in the discharge or postpartum plan you can actually find later. Your clinician may recommend earlier or more frequent care.

01
Who should I call during office hours, after hours, and on weekends?
02
Where should I go if I need urgent maternity care after discharge?
03
When should my postpartum contact and comprehensive visit occur, and does my health history change that plan?
04
What follow-up applies to my blood pressure, diabetes, medicines, incision or tear, labs, mental health, feeding effects on me, or another complication?
05
Which symptoms mean call you now, seek urgent care, or call 911?
06
How can I request a qualified interpreter, accessible equipment, written instructions, extra time, or another accommodation before I travel?
07
If a referral, test, or result is still open, who owns the next step and by what date?

NO PERFECT WORDS REQUIRED

Carry the words into the room.

WORDS FOR THE OB-GYN OR MIDWIFE

“I want to make my postpartum plan before birth. Who do I call after hours? When should my postpartum contact happen, and does my health history or pregnancy change that timing? What symptoms should send me to urgent care or 911? Please write down who owns any follow-up for blood pressure, diabetes, medicines, pain, mental health, feeding effects on me, or referrals.”

Copied text may remain on this device’s clipboard.

WORDS FOR A SAFE SUPPORTER

“If I say something feels wrong, please believe me and help me reach care. Tell every clinician that I am pregnant or was pregnant within the last year. Please fully own the task we agree on—from noticing and planning it through finishing and cleanup—without waiting for me to supervise.”

Copied text may remain on this device’s clipboard.

FOR A PARTNER, FRIEND, OR SAFE HELPER

The job is to notice the mother, too.

Believe her when she says something feels wrong.
Tell every clinician she is pregnant or was pregnant within the last year.
Own complete tasks instead of asking her to keep directing the work.
Protect food, water, medicines, sleep, privacy, and time for her care.
Use 911 for immediate danger or emergency symptoms; do not wait for perfect certainty.

Independent education—not an endorsement.

The Village does not contact a clinician, place a call, monitor symptoms, schedule care, or confirm that an outside resource answered.

CDC urgent maternal warning signs ↗ACOG postpartum care guidance ↗HRSA maternal hotline FAQ ↗How sources and review are handled →

Print or save this guide before birth, and give a copy to one safe person. A printed or saved copy may be seen by anyone with access to the device, account, or paper.