New Moms Need 1 Year To Recover From Childbirth, Studies Say

Ask any mother about childbirth and they’ll definitely tell you the exact same thing – it’s not recommended for the faint of heart! It’s truly an unforgettably challenging, emotionally and physically, experience for most women.

And yet, it is also one of the most rewarding. Nothing can be as fulfilling and life-changing as being a mother to a little bundle of joy!

That said, it is extremely important for women to have ample time for healing, recuperating, and making necessary lifestyle adjustments before going back to their regular routines such as, say, a full-time job.

The allowed maternity leave period varies from country to country.

In the United States, for example, new mothers get to enjoy 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Meanwhile, Ghana also offers 12 weeks of leave but they’re currently planning to extend that up to 16. Singaporean mothers, on the other hand, get 16 weeks’ leave. Over at England, mothers only get 6 weeks maternity leave.

If you ask the experts, however, they’ll tell you that those periods are not enough.

According to several researches, new mothers need 1 year to recover from childbirth.

For example, a study conducted by England’s Salford University tells us that, yes, new moms need at least a year in order to really recover from childbirth. Majority of the mothers interviewed by researchers said that recovering definitely takes more than a month and a half. It also isn’t helping that some celebrity moms are trying to make postpartum recovery as if it was easy.

In a DailyMail interview, Julie Wray, Ph.D, lead author of the study, said:

“The research shows that more realistic and woman-friendly postnatal services are needed. Women feel that it takes much longer than six weeks to recover and they should be supported beyond the current six to eight weeks after birth.”

Ideally, women should stay a bit longer in the hospital so they can also learn newborn care and practice breastfeeding with the help of professionals.

Ample rest is needed for a mother’s physical well-being.

Another research carried out by Janis M. Miller, Ph.D., and a research team at the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan in the United States confirms to us that, yes, new moms need adequate recovery time.

According to them, mothers likewise need to physically recuperate because MRI scans show a lot of pressure in a woman’s pelvic area after pregnancy and childbirth.

Dr. Miller explained:

“Our data shows a wide range of time for women to complete their healing after a very strenuous birth. Women are not given permission to have more time to recover after childbirth.”

Finally, a study conducted in Australia likewise tell us that new moms “still have high levels of exhaustion, back pain, urinary incontinence, sexual problems, and perineal pain (the perineum is the area between the vagina and the anus), even six to seven months after giving birth.”

Both mental and physical stress can also lead to bigger risks for postpartum depression, experts said.

Well what do you think about this, dear readers? Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below!