Once you leave the hospital, or your caregiver stops visiting you at home, your health services and sources for information and support will start to come from various community services. What is available in your local area will vary, depending on what country you live in and whether you live in the city, or a rural area. Your caregiver in the hospital (or who provided home visits) should give you a list of contacts and phone numbers, detailing the various services available within your area, before you go home (or the home visits cease).
Community support may be needed for health reasons for you (the woman) or your baby. It is usually recommended that you return to the hospital where you had your baby, or contact your caregiver (if this is possible) for any immediate health problems that arise in the few weeks following the birth. For minor health concerns, or health issues that arise after the 6 to 8 week postnatal check up, then it is probably more appropriate to just see your local doctor (unless it is an emergency, where you would need to go to a hospital, not necessarily where you gave birth). Another source of non-emergency health information may come from your
early childhood nurse at the baby health clinic.
Most countries have various community services, and volunteer parent support groups, available for new parents to access information and emotional support. It is helpful to be aware of what is available to you, and to have phone numbers (or web addresses) handy at all times, particularly for services that offer 24 hour telephone counselling, or information on early parenting and breastfeeding. (Trying to find a contact at 3am with a crying baby can be too hard and stressful). Many services will offer general advice and emotional support. This can help if you need different strategies to sort out your concern, or are seeking comfort in finding out that what your baby is doing is actually 'normal'.