Mackenzie W. used to be the type of person who always prioritized her own health.
But that all changed once she gave birth to Felix, her firstborn child.
“Since I had Felix, everything is just so chaotic I don’t have time to take care of myself half the time,” she admits.
Mackenzie isn’t the only new parent who has found this difficult.
“What the statistics show is that 40% of women don’t attend their postpartum visits,” explains Dr. Alycia Jackson, a family medicine physician at Hillsboro Medical Center.
Attendance rates are even lower for those with limited resources who lack access to transportation and childcare, which contributes to health disparities.
To improve the health of growing families, Dr. Jackson helped develop “Family Centered Visits” at Hillsboro Medical Center South Hillsboro Primary Care.
These Family Centered Visits enable new parents to conveniently schedule their own postpartum appointments back-to-back with their newborn’s well-child checkups.
“Our Family Centered Visits allow enough time to address the birthing parent’s personal health issues as well as concerns for their infant’s first year of life,” notes Dr. Jackson.
For Mackenzie’s family, Family Centered Visits have been especially important. At three months old, Felix wasn’t gaining enough weight and had to go to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital to receive a feeding tube.
This has only increased the frequency in which Mackenzie and Felix see Dr. Andrea G. Janssen, their family physician. At their Family Centered Visits, Dr. Janssen monitors Felix’s development and Mackenzie’s postpartum progress.
“Dr. Janssen has called in several times to check on us to make sure that we have everything we need,” explains Mackenzie. “It’s nice to feel like there is somebody who really cares.”
Dr. Janssen provides care at a Family Centered Visit to new mom, Mackenzie, and her son, Felix.
Even with Felix’s health issues, Mackenzie says the Family Centered Visits have been a “very positive experience.”
“The entire care team here has been really great,” acknowledges Mackenzie. “Also, because Hillsboro Medical Center is affiliated with OHSU, I feel like it has a lot of extra resources.”
She explains that Felix has benefitted from referrals to OHSU specialists, including nutritionists and gastroenterologists.
Mackenzie recommends that other new families take advantage of the convenient Family Centered Visits at Hillsboro Medical Center South Hillsboro Primary Care.
“The doctors here are very compassionate and knowledgeable,” she says. “They are invested in our family’s health.”
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