Is the six-week check bulk-billed in Australia?

The six-week postnatal check is MBS-subsidised and covered by Medicare. Most GPs bulk-bill it or charge a minimal gap. Blood tests ordered at the same appointment are typically Medicare-covered, depending on the clinical justification documented.

What if I missed my six-week check?

See your GP as soon as you can. The checks and blood tests described above are relevant and useful at any point in the first postpartum year, not only at exactly six weeks.

Can I request a longer appointment?

Yes. When booking, specify a long consultation (twenty to forty minutes) to discuss postpartum health comprehensively. This gives you and your GP adequate time to cover blood tests, your symptoms, and a follow-up plan.

Your 6-Week Postpartum Check: What to Expect (And What to Ask About Nutrition)

By Kelly Northey, Certified Postpartum Nutrition Professional

Founder of Nella Vosk • 14+ years supporting families across motherhood, feeding, and early childhood wellbeing

Editorial Policy →

Your 6-Week Postpartum Check: What to Expect (And What to Ask About Nutrition)

This article is part of the Nella Vosk Postpartum Nutrition & Recovery: Complete Guide for New Mothers — your complete resource for nourishing your body through every stage of postpartum recovery.

This article addresses a specific moment in Australian postpartum care: the six-week GP appointment. What it covers, what it does not cover, and what nutritional questions to raise — because most GPs will not raise them for you.

What the Six-Week Check Is (And What It Is Not)

The six-week postpartum check is offered to all Australian mothers at approximately six weeks after birth, typically by their GP, and partially subsidised under Medicare. It usually runs fifteen to twenty minutes.

What the six-week check routinely covers:

Uterine involution: confirming the uterus has returned to its pre-pregnancy size
Wound healing: checking caesarean incisions or perineal repairs
Contraception: discussing birth control now that the immediate postpartum period has passed
Mental health screening: usually via the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
Blood pressure and general vital signs

What the six-week check does not routinely cover:

Ferritin (iron stores) — most GPs test haemoglobin only, if they test iron at all
Vitamin D
Vitamin B12 and folate
Thyroid function (TSH, T3, T4) — critically relevant given postpartum thyroiditis affects 5–10% of women
Zinc
Any nutritional assessment or guidance whatsoever

The gap between what the six-week check offers and what a postpartum body actually needs is one of the most significant structural issues in Australian maternal healthcare. Being told “you’re all clear” at six weeks creates the impression that recovery is complete — when in reality, nutritional, hormonal, and physical recovery are ongoing for months.

What to Ask Your GP

Ferritin (Not Just Haemoglobin)

The most important single test. Ferritin measures iron stores, which fall significantly before haemoglobin does. A mother can have normal haemoglobin and critically low ferritin and still experience severe fatigue. Ask specifically: “Can you add ferritin to the blood test? I’d like to check my iron stores, not just my haemoglobin.”

25-OH Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is common, easy to test, and addressable. Its symptoms — fatigue, low mood, muscle weakness — overlap significantly with normal postpartum exhaustion, which is why it is so consistently missed.

Vitamin B12 and Folate

B12 deficiency produces neurological fatigue, cognitive fog, and low mood. If you eat limited animal products, or have been taking metformin or proton pump inhibitors, deficiency is particularly likely.

Thyroid Function: TSH, Free T3, Free T4

Postpartum thyroiditis affects approximately five to ten percent of women in the twelve months after birth. Its symptoms — fatigue, weight changes, hair loss, mood disturbance — are frequently attributed to normal postpartum experience and missed without testing.

How to Have This Conversation With Your GP

Frame the request clinically: “I’ve been experiencing [fatigue / brain fog / low mood / hair loss] that doesn’t seem to be improving as my baby’s sleep improves. I’d like to investigate whether nutritional deficiencies might be contributing. Can we add ferritin, 25-OH vitamin D, B12, folate, and thyroid function to the blood test?”

This frames the request as investigating a clinical presentation rather than wellness-seeking, which is more likely to be well received. If your GP declines without a clinical reason, it is reasonable to seek a second opinion or find a GP with an interest in maternal health.

What to Do With Your Results

Ferritin below 30μg/L: discuss iron supplementation (ferrous bisglycinate is generally better tolerated) alongside dietary iron with vitamin C
25-OH vitamin D below 50nmol/L: discuss supplementation dosage with your GP — do not self-prescribe high doses without monitoring
B12 below 300pmol/L: discuss oral supplementation or, if severe, intramuscular injection
TSH outside normal range: warrants further thyroid investigation and monitoring
All results normal but still symptomatic: discuss whether omega-3, magnesium, or choline insufficiency might be contributing

The Six-Week Check Is a Beginning, Not an Ending

Being cleared at six weeks does not mean recovery is complete. It means acute healing has progressed without complication. The nutritional, hormonal, and physical recovery from pregnancy, birth, and early breastfeeding takes months. The six-week check is the moment to establish the baseline that guides that longer recovery — not to declare it finished.

Leaving the six-week appointment with a blood panel ordered and a plan for the results is one of the most useful things you can do. Most GPs will not prompt this. But most GPs will do it if you ask.

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Frequently Asked Questions

: The six-week postnatal check is MBS-subsidised and covered by Medicare. Most GPs bulk-bill it or charge a minimal gap.

Blood tests ordered at the same appointment are typically Medicare-covered, depending on the clinical justification documented.
: See your GP as soon as you can. The checks and blood tests described above are relevant and useful at any point in the first postpartum year, not only at exactly six weeks.
: Yes. When booking, specify a long consultation (twenty to forty minutes) to discuss postpartum health comprehensively.

This gives you and your GP adequate time to cover blood tests, your symptoms, and a follow-up plan.

Next Steps

For the full picture of what your blood results may point toward, see the complete guide to nutrient deficiencies after birth. For the broader postpartum nutrition framework, the Postpartum Nutrition & Recovery: Complete Guide for New Mothers is your comprehensive resource.

Browse the Nourish Mama postpartum recovery range for daily nutritional support while you work through your recovery.

About the Author

Written by Kelly Northey, Certified Postpartum Nutrition Professional and founder of Nella Vosk.

Kelly helps Australian mothers understand the gap between the six-week clearance they receive and the recovery that is still underway — including what to ask at the six-week check to make that appointment genuinely useful for nutritional health.

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