Advocating for Postpartum Care: Reflections From Capitol Hill Day

May 11, 2026

Posted By: Noam Eitan in Member Spotlight, Practice & Advocacy,

It is easy to feel skeptical about advocacy work. Progress can seem slow, and the results of sustained effort are not always immediately visible. My own interest in advocacy grew from a place of frustration, I cared too much to keep noticing what was not working without trying to be part of a solution. At some point, I realized I wanted to move beyond observing and complaining and start contributing to change in a more meaningful way.

This year, I had the privilege of representing our profession and the Academy of Pelvic Health in congressional and Senate offices as part of APTA Capitol Hill Day, advocating for maternal health policy and the role of physical therapy in the postpartum period.

As a pelvic health physical therapist, a member of the Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Task Force, a naturalized U.S citizen, and a mother of three, this experience carried meaning on many levels. I do not take lightly the opportunity to walk into the halls of Congress and speak on behalf of patients, families, and my profession. My personal and professional journeys have shaped how I think about civic responsibility, access, and voice. Being able to participate in advocacy at this level felt both humbling and deeply personal.

My involvement with this legislation goes back to its earliest stages. Seeing those initial conversations evolve into active advocacy around H.R. 4074 was both encouraging and grounding. It served as a reminder that meaningful policy change rarely happens all at once. It takes persistence, collaboration, and a willingness to keep returning to the table, even when progress feels incremental. That is especially true in maternal health, where gaps in care are highly visible to clinicians but often less visible in policy conversations.

The postpartum period remains one of the most under supported windows in our healthcare system. Too often, patients are discharged after birth with a single six-week follow-up and limited structured support otherwise. For many, that means navigating physical and emotional changes and the demands of recovery without adequate support. As pelvic health clinicians, we witness the impact of that gap every day, physically, emotionally, and socially. We see how much difference timely, comprehensive care can make, and we also see the consequences when that care is missing.

Walking into congressional offices as an advocate felt like true responsibility. In those meetings, I was able to speak not only from a clinical perspective, but from a human one. That is what makes advocacy powerful, it allows us to connect the dots between policy and lived experience. It gives us the opportunity to explain why postpartum care matters, not as an abstract issue, but as something that affects real people recovering from birth, rebuilding strength, and caring for themselves and their families.

As a mother, the work also felt deeply personal. The policies we advance today will shape the healthcare landscape that future generations of patients, including my own children, will experience. That perspective brings clarity, especially when progress feels slow. It is easy to become discouraged if you focus only on what has not yet changed. But when you step back and consider the long arc of advocacy, it becomes clear that every conversation, every meeting, and every shared story contributes to something larger.

One of the most meaningful aspects of the experience was connecting in person with fellow task force members. After months of virtual collaboration, refining language, aligning on strategy, and challenging each other’s thinking, being together in the same space added a different dimension. There is something powerful about standing shoulder to shoulder with colleagues who share your commitment to better care. It reinforced what collective advocacy truly looks like, and why it works.

This experience brought together every part of who I am, physical therapist, mother, naturalized citizen, and patient advocate and left me with a renewed sense of responsibility to continue showing up, speaking out, and advancing change for the patients and families we serve. I left Capitol Hill with a deeper appreciation for the role each of us can play in shaping the future of care.

If you have not yet dipped your toes into advocacy work, I encourage you to consider it. Advocacy is not separate from clinical care, it is an extension of it. Our patients navigate a system that too often overlooks the postpartum period, and the clinicians who care for them every day are exactly the voices that belong in these conversations. When we bring our clinical expertise and lived experience into policy spaces, we help move the work forward in a meaningful and lasting way.

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