Recovering from a major surgery like a C-section is not easy, but for mothers who have young children at home, these challenges are compounded. Finding time to rest and heal can feel impossible at times.

“Moms who have had a C-section are potentially facing a lot in terms of their recovery,” says Brett Einerson, MD, MPH, FACOG, a specialist and expert in maternal-fetal medicine at University of Utah Health. “They have all the expectations, difficulties, and joys of being a new mom, but in addition, they’re recovering from a major abdominal surgery.”

Traditional C-section care in a hospital involves up to four nights’ stay in the hospital for the mother, followed by going home. Between providing around-the-clock care to a newborn, parenting older children, and healing, finding time to travel to follow-up appointments can add unnecessary stress. During those gaps in care for the new mother, warning signs of complications can easily be missed.

But through programs like Heal at Home at U of U Health, second time c-section moms can choose to recover at home, where they are comfortable and surrounded by their family, rather than staying in the hospital longer. U of U Health is the only health system in Utah offering this type of postpartum care to women as an alternative to hospital care.

“Instead of spending three or four nights in the hospital, they get to spend those nights at home and receive check-ins from home health care as much as needed,” Einerson explains.