Why does our society often overlook childbirth as just a natural process, without recognizing the medical needs and follow-up care it may require? Why do we hold such a perspective?

Post partum is relate with social system

Recent news suggests that postpartum depression might be linked to genes. This is interesting, but the article made me feel uneasy. It seemed to suggest that postpartum depression is only a woman’s responsibility. Many people think postpartum depression is just a mental health issue women face after giving birth. However, it’s important to remember that our society and modern lifestyle can also play a role in causing it.

Real discriminations occur in women’s health

In modern society, after a woman goes through pregnancy and gives birth, she often feels both physically and emotionally drained. After birth, she has to feed the newborn every two hours, which means she hardly gets any sleep. Imagine being up in the middle of the night, every night, all alone, trying to care for a baby who can’t communicate well for several weeks. Consider this: if a person had major surgery and just two days later, they had to wake up every two hours to feed and change a baby, taking care of them around the clock, would they be in a good mental state? It’s a huge challenge that every human being.

Reality in material life after delivery

In the current U.S. healthcare system, the post-delivery care situation for women is concerning. Due to insurance policies or other reasons, many women are discharged from the hospital within three to four days after giving birth, whether it’s a natural birth or a C-section. High medical expenses mean that after delivery, there’s little financial support for new mothers and their newborns. While some companies offer medical leave for spouses, in many families, only the mother gets parental leave. The other partner often has to continue working to pay for necessities like the mortgage and bills. Hiring a nanny or household help during this time can be expensive, so many women end up caring for themselves and their newborns on their own. While some families receive support from relatives like mothers or aunts, many don’t have this luxury.

New idea

Currently, Medicare provides support for seniors who have difficulty living independently by offering a few hours of home care aid from agencies. Why isn’t similar support extended to women after childbirth?

Why does our society often overlook childbirth as just a natural process, without recognizing the medical needs and follow-up care it may require? Why do we hold such a perspective?

Suggestions/Idea

Based on my experience as a mother who has given birth to six children, here are my suggestions:

1. Provide at least one to three weeks of home care aid from a home care agency.
2. Offer home meal services for a minimum of two weeks.
3. Extend spousal parental leave to three months.

To compensate of the quickly discharging women from the hospital after childbirth, our society should invest in home care support for these mothers. Here is the expected benefit from the providing homecare service for the delivered mother :

Benefits:

1. Physical and Emotional Support: Assisting families and especially new mothers both physically and emotionally during a crucial time.
2. Guidance and Coaching: Ensuring that newborns are cared for properly by offering guidance on best practices for raising them.
3. Job Creation: Providing employment opportunities for experienced homemakers, which also fosters social bonding within the community.

Summary

Having a baby is very important for our world. We should make sure mothers and their new babies have what they need to be healthy and safe. It’s not right to just help mothers for a day or two after giving birth and then not support them anymore. Even birds take better care of each other! It’s not just the mother’s job to handle feelings of sadness or the ‘baby blues’ after having a baby. Just like when someone gets medical help for other things, mothers should get help and care from everyone around them and from doctors after they have a baby.