Fourth Trimester Care

Physician led postpartum care for mom and baby in the comfort of your home

Whether it’s your first baby or your fourth, the first few weeks at home can be both joyful and more than a little overwhelming.

Our Fourth Trimester Care Program was created to provide the support for moms and babies that is lacking from routine postpartum and newborn care.

As a board certified family medicine physician with fellowship experience in obstetrics, Dr. Kuster is uniquely positioned to care for both mom and baby in the all important fourth trimester period. Because leaving the house for doctors’ appointments in those early days can feel like a Herculean task, all of our packages include a home visit 48-72 hours after delivery or hospital discharge, leaving you more time for bonding, recovery, and sleep.

Foundations

Duration: 1 month

Cost: $850

Everything you need for early postpartum support

Includes:

Support:

  • messaging, phone, and email access during business hours

  • after hours phone access for urgent issues

  • maternal mental health assessment and treatment

Visits:

  • 1 in-office planning visit in the 3rd trimester

  • 1 home visit for mom and baby in the first days after delivery or hospital discharge

  • 2 in-office visits for mom/baby check ups


Packages

Enhanced

Duration: 2 months

Cost: $1400

Extended guidance through postpartum recovery

Includes:

Support:

  • messaging, phone, and email access during business hours

  • after hours phone access for urgent issues

  • maternal mental health assessment and treatment

Visits:

  • 1 in-office planning visit in the 3rd trimester

  • 2 home visits for mom and baby in the first weeks after delivery or hospital discharge

  • 2 in-office visits for mom/baby check ups in month 2


Because each package includes home visits and highly personalized care, availability is limited each month. Please submit a request and we’ll follow up in 1-2 days with next steps and current openings.

Complimentary home visits are available within a 20-minute radius of our clinic in Louisville, Colorado. Longer distances may be accommodated on an individual basis.

What Happens at a Visit?

We tailor every visit to your family's real-time needs. While no two visits are the same, our time together typically includes:

Mom:

  • Deep-Dive Wellness Check Beyond the standard questionnaire, we’ll talk openly about your mental health, identity shifts, sleep, and emotional recovery

  • Comprehensive Physical Exam Vitals, blood pressure check, incision/tear healing, and monitoring any pregnancy-related conditions like high blood pressure or gestational diabetes (and what they mean for your health going forward)

  • Postpartum Nutrition & Vitality Practical guidance on eating for healing, energy, and lactation

  • Core & Pelvic Floor Recovery Gentle, functional assessments and a graduated plan to help you reconnect with your core and pelvic floor safely

  • Feeding & Lactation Support Navigating the ups and downs of breastfeeding, pumping, or formula feeding

  • Family Planning & Contraception Open, unhurried conversations about if and when you're ready for birth control

Complete

Duration: 3 months

Cost: $2600

Comprehensive medical support throughout the entire fourth trimester

Includes:

Support:

  • messaging, phone, and email access during business hours

  • after hours phone access for urgent issues

  • maternal mental health assessment and treatment

Visits:

  • 1 in-office planning visit in the 3rd trimester

  • 3 home visits for mom and baby in the first month after delivery or hospital discharge

  • 3 in-office visits for mom/baby check ups in months 2 & 3

Membership:

  • Full Abide Health membership: This covers all routine primary care and sick visits for 3 months for both mom and baby ($525 value)

  • Continuity of Care: No need to find a new doctor for fevers, rashes, or minor illnesses during your first 3 months

  • Personalized Care Plan: a roadmap for mom’s ongoing recovery and wellness upon completion of the package


Baby:

  • Weight & Growth Tracking Accurate weight checks and growth tracking from the comfort of your home

  • Feeding & Lactation Support Help with breastfeeding mechanics, pumping, or formula feeding, including functional assessments for issues like tongue or lip ties

  • Newborn Metabolic Screening We can complete this vital state screening right in the comfort of your living room. It requires a quick heel prick to check for rare but treatable conditions, giving your baby the healthiest possible start.

  • Full Head-to-Toe Physical Exam A gentle, unhurried examination of your newborn, including monitoring newborn jaundice.

  • Developmental Guidance Practical advice for the road ahead, covering infant sleep, movement, and family and sibling bonding

  • Vaccine Navigation While Abide Health does not house infant vaccines, we fully support routine pediatric immunization and will seamlessly connect you with a local vaccine provider. If you have vaccine questions we are happy to discuss these in an open, nonjudgmental way.

Why the Fourth Trimester Matters

Dr. Kuster at home with her youngest daughter when she was an infant.

The Gap in Modern Maternity Care

Most people assume that the "danger zone" ends once the baby is safely delivered. However, clinical data shows a different reality: The postpartum period is the most critical window for a mother's health.

In the United States, over half of all pregnancy-related complications and deaths occur after the day of delivery.

  • The First Week: This is the highest-risk period for life-threatening issues like hemorrhage, infection, and high blood pressure (preeclampsia).

  • Many clinics don't see a mother until 6 weeks postpartum. This leaves a "care gap" during the exact weeks when medical intervention is most effective.

Matrescence: Honoring the transition to motherhood

At Abide Health, we believe the Fourth Trimester requires active monitoring to ensure both mom and baby are thriving, not just surviving.

  • Immediate Clinical Eyes: Our home visits in the first days and weeks are designed to catch "red flag" symptoms before they become emergencies.

  • Maternal Mental Health: 1 in 5 postpartum deaths are related to mental health. We include specialized screenings and treatment paths as a standard of care, not an afterthought.

  • Integrated Wellness: We move beyond the standard '6-week clearance' to provide real-time medical oversight when risks are highest and support is needed most. This includes everything from troubleshooting breastfeeding issues to optimizing long term pelvic health and navigating the complexities of welcoming a small human into your family.

A newborn and mother breastfeeding

“Dr. Kuster was an incredible support during pregnancy and delivery of our daughter last year. She thoughtfully considered all of our questions, respected our wishes, and supported us throughout the whole process.”

- April S.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We are a Direct Primary Care clinic, which means we do not bill insurance for our services. This allows us to offer unhurried, highly personalized care without insurance companies dictating your treatment.

    This also means we can care for you whether you have traditional health insurance or not! However, there are two legal exceptions: even though we do not bill insurance, we cannot currently accept patients who are enrolled in Medicaid, or who are enrolled in (or eligible for) Medicare.

  • Our clinic is located in Louisville, CO. We travel to homes within a 20-minute radius, covering all of Louisville, Superior, and Lafayette, as well as portions of Broomfield, Boulder, Erie, and Gunbarrel.

    If you are outside this radius, please reach out! We can easily customize a package for you that utilizes in-office visits, or we can discuss a distance travel fee to come to your home.

  • We recommend securing your spot during your second orthird trimester. This allows us to connect before your baby arrives. All of our Fourth Trimester Packages include a visit in your third trimester so that we can map out your postpartum plan together, ensuring you feel confident and supported rather than overwhelmed in those early days after birth.

  • Yes, for urgent needs that cannot wait until the next business day.

    • Non-Urgent Messages: Questions about routine scheduling, non-urgent symptoms, or general billing are answered via our portal the same or next business day.

    • Urgent Concerns: If you or your baby have an urgent medical concern after hours, you can call us directly.

    To help you feel confident navigating the postpartum period, we provide every family with a comprehensive "When to Worry" guide. This guide outlines exactly what symptoms are normal and what requires a phone call, helping you avoid unnecessary stress.

  • We want you to focus entirely on your recovery and your new baby—not on your inbox. To keep things simple and budget-friendly, all of our postpartum packages follow a consistent three-step billing structure:

    • Step 1: The Enrollment Fee ($250) This non-refundable fee is paid when you sign up during your pregnancy. It secures your spot on our clinical calendar and covers your comprehensive 3rd-trimester prenatal planning visit.

    • Step 2: The Initial Installment (50% of Balance) Once you’ve settled in at home and we’ve had our first postpartum visit, we will process the first half of your package balance. There is no rush to notify us the moment your baby arrives; we will handle this when we connect for your first home visit.

    • Step 3: The 1-Month Installment (Remaining 50%) The final 50% of the package balance is automatically billed one month after your initial postnatal installment.

    Can I pay the full balance at once? Absolutely. If you prefer to settle the entire package balance during our first visit to "set it and forget it," just let us know and we can adjust your invoice accordingly.

  • Yes. We offer newborn circumcisions using the Plastibell method.

    Choosing whether or not to circumcise is a deeply personal decision. Before scheduling, we will sit down together to discuss whether this is the best option for your family. We will review the medical facts, benefits, and risks in an open, unhurried environment so you can make a decision you feel completely confident in.

    Pricing: $300

    Pricing includes the pre-procedure consultation, sterile single-use materials, local numbing block, and follow-up healing checks.

  • Our Pause Policy

    We know the path isn't always linear. If a mother or baby requires a hospital readmission or NICU stay, we pause your package duration and resume your home visits and care once you return home.

  • How we handle illnesses depends on which Fourth Trimester Package you are enrolled in:

    • Complete Package (Highest Tier): Acute sick visits for both mom and baby are fully covered and included in your package.

    • Foundations & Enhanced Packages: If you or your baby get sick, you have full access to call or message me with questions. I will help you triage the symptoms over the phone and determine if you need to be seen. If an in-person or hands-on medical visit is required, we can schedule an a-la-carte acute visit or refer you to the appropriate clinic.

  • We love caring for multiples! Our base fourth-trimester packages cover one mother-infant dyad (Mom and one baby). Because visits for multiples take extra time to complete simultaneous physical exams, weight checks, and medical charting, we charge a flat add-on fee per additional infant:

    • 4-Week Package Add-On: +$250 per extra baby

    • 8-Week Package Add-On: +$400 per extra baby

    • 12-Week Package Add-On: +$700 per extra baby

    Visits will be extended on our calendar to ensure everyone receives unhurried, comprehensive clinical care.

Secure Your Spot

Thank you for your interest in our fourth trimester packages for you and your newborn! To ensure personalized, high-quality care, we offer a limited number of spots each month. Please fill out this form so we can confirm availability and next steps.