In 405 pregnant patients in Chicago, a navigator raised postpartum visits and primary care a year later

What the research found

Study (care-navigation trial, not a drug or diet trial). ScienceDaily carried the Northwestern University account on 6 October 2026. Lynn Yee and colleagues report in JAMA Health Forum (2026; 7(10):e263338; doi 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.3338). The study enrolled 405 pregnant people at Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago from 2020 to 2024. Those paired with a bilingual navigator, from late pregnancy through the first year after birth, were more likely than usual care to attend a postpartum visit (96 percent versus 80 percent), receive counseling on needed topics (65 versus 51), have depression screening and care (86 versus 72), attend primary care at one year (57 versus 30), be using their chosen family-planning method at one year (65 versus 43), and have preventive checks recorded for blood pressure (85 versus 62), lipids (28 versus 13), and glucose (31 versus 16). Navigators helped with transport, childcare, scheduling, and health information. The release does not give a mean age. The comparisons are process-of-care results, not a test of a supplement. Educational notes. This is not medical advice.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at Northwestern University / JAMA Health Forum