Postpartum Care Only
This code covers the follow-up care after a birth when that care is billed on its own rather than inside a full maternity package. It typically means the office visits in the weeks after delivery — checking healing, bleeding, blood pressure, mood, contraception and feeding — provided by a practice that did not bill for the delivery itself.
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What it is
Most obstetric billing folds postpartum visits into one global package alongside prenatal care and the delivery. This code exists for the cases where that does not happen: the patient moved, changed practices after the birth, delivered while travelling, or the delivery was billed by someone else. What is being paid for here is the after-care on its own — the office visits that happen once mother and baby are home.
Why it is done
- To check that the perineum or a cesarean incision is healing and that bleeding is settling as expected
- To measure blood pressure, which can rise dangerously in the weeks after a birth even when the pregnancy was uncomplicated
- To screen for postpartum depression and ask about how the adjustment is going, not only how the body is doing
- To discuss contraception, return to normal activity, and any feeding difficulties
What to expect
A postpartum check is an office appointment, not a procedure. The provider asks about bleeding, pain, mood and sleep, takes vital signs, and examines the abdomen and perineum or the surgical scar depending on how the birth went. Providers commonly advise waiting several weeks before resuming sexual activity and give individual guidance on activity. Some practices schedule an early contact in the first couple of weeks and a fuller visit later. Bleeding of some degree for up to about six weeks is normal, and breast tenderness, swelling and constipation are common in this period.
Questions worth asking
- Is this visit being billed separately because my delivery was billed by a different practice? If the same practice did both, it may belong inside a global package instead.
- How many visits does this code cover, and what happens if I need more than that?
- If a specific problem — a wound infection, high blood pressure, a depression diagnosis — is treated at the visit, is that billed on top?
- Does my plan treat postpartum care as part of the maternity benefit, with the deductible already met by the delivery, or as a fresh office visit?
What Postpartum Care Only costs by state
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Texas — 70 hospitals, median $527.42
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Ohio — 32 hospitals, median $255.75
- Postpartum Care Only cost in California — 31 hospitals, median $170.43
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Michigan — 24 hospitals, median $542.00
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Georgia — 22 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in New Jersey — 21 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Iowa — 19 hospitals, median $501.60
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Washington — 19 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in New York — 18 hospitals, median $263.88
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Indiana — 16 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Missouri — 14 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Wisconsin — 13 hospitals, median $221.16
- Postpartum Care Only cost in North Carolina — 12 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Tennessee — 12 hospitals, median $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only cost in West Virginia — 12 hospitals, median $194.50
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Illinois — 11 hospitals, median $364.80
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Kansas — 10 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Nebraska — 10 hospitals, median $1,078.56
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Oklahoma — 9 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Arizona — 7 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $257.80
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Colorado — 5 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Louisiana — 4 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Oregon — 4 hospitals, median $540.00
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Florida — 3 hospitals, median $837.20
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Nevada — 3 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Pennsylvania — 3 hospitals, median $67.80
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Virginia — 3 hospitals, median $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Alaska — 2 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Minnesota — 2 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in North Dakota — 2 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in South Dakota — 2 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Hawaii — 1 hospitals, median $135.68
- Postpartum Care Only cost in Montana — 1 hospitals, median $392.80
- Postpartum Care Only cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $362.80
- Postpartum Care Only cost in New Mexico — 1 hospitals, median not published by hospital
- Postpartum Care Only cost in South Carolina — 1 hospitals, median not published by hospital
Postpartum Care Only prices at hospitals
- Postpartum Care Only at Covenant Hospital Plainview, Plainview — $48.30
- Postpartum Care Only at Berkeley Medical Center, Martinsburg — $54.50
- Postpartum Care Only at LODI MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION INC, Lodi — $62.79
- Postpartum Care Only at Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Glen Dale — $65.00
- Postpartum Care Only at Thomas Hospitals, South Charleston — $67.50
- Postpartum Care Only at UPMC Williamsport, Williamsport — $67.80
- Postpartum Care Only at UPMC Altoona, Altoona — $67.80
- Postpartum Care Only at Hancock County Hospital, SNEEDVILLE — $70.61
- Postpartum Care Only at Bristol Regional Medical Center, BRISTOL — $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only at Greeneville Community Hospital, GREENEVILLE — $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only at Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, ROGERSVILLE — $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only at Holston Valley Medical Center, KINGSPORT — $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only at Lonesome Pine Hospital, BIG STONE GAP — $72.00
- Postpartum Care Only at SAN JOAQUIN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, Bakersfield — $87.45
- Postpartum Care Only at HANFORD COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, Selma — $110.77
- Postpartum Care Only at ADVENTIST HEALTH TULARE, Tulare — $110.77
- Postpartum Care Only at Weirton Medical Center, Weirton — $117.00
- Postpartum Care Only at West Virginia University Hospitals, Morgantown — $117.00
- Postpartum Care Only at CASTLE MEDICAL CENTER, Kailua — $135.68
- Postpartum Care Only at Mercy Medical Center Merced, Merced — $147.81
See every published price for Postpartum Care Only: the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.
Postpartum Care Only cost — see all prices →Sources
- MedlinePlus: Postpartum Care (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)