Pregnancy and Childbirth and Its Impact on Mothers

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Introduction
Pregnancy and childbirth are milestones of families, but these also impose issues with regards to stress, health, and safety of both the mother and child. A sufficient period is required for mothers to recuperate and adjust after undergoing childbirth. Various organizations generally give a specific period of maternity leave before the mother may go back to work, to promote rest and the provision of the basic needs of the child. This research paper will discuss the effects of maternity/paternity leave greater than eight weeks on the physical and psychological health of both parents and the children. Generally, quality of care given to the infants, symptoms of postpartum depression, caregiver roles, and breastfeeding are some of the identified aspects that are altered depending on the length of leave given by the organization to parents. The gathered literature on this topic is broken down into these major themes: effect on the mother’s health, effects on a child’s health, and effects in foreign countries.
Effect on Mother’s Health
The length of paternity/maternity leave has shown to be associated with the health and wellbeing of the children and parents, specifically the mother. In the article of Dagher, McGovern, & Dowd, using a prospective cohort, the increased length of maternity leave was found to have a positive effect on the physical health and symptoms of depression of the mother (2014). The breastfeeding practice that the mother undergoes was seen to be associated with the given length of maternity leave, including other factors such as government/organization policies and socioeconomic status. Mothers from low-middle income countries were found to be capable of breastfeeding their child longer when given sufficient maternity leave as there is a minimal occupational disruption (Chai, Nani, & Heymann, 2018). Evidence is present regarding low quality of care towards their child, heightened stress, and depressive symptoms of mothers who have a 6-month old child while also employed and working shifts. The parental stress and the high demands at work, in addition to the lack of sufficient leave, result in poor mental and physical health outcomes of mothers affecting the work quality that they can deliver even at work (Chatterji, Markowitz...