Subjects
Parental leave, maternity leave, FMLA, postpartum, bonding, trauma, The United States
Abstract
In the United States, the lack of availability and support around maternity leave results in mothers rushing back to the workforce soon after childbirth. Topics such as breastfeeding, physical trauma, postpartum depression, and working while in the postpartum period, all pile together to paint a picture of what it means to be a new mother in America. Through the use of qualitative data and academic sources, the article's findings conclude that health and bonding between the mother and baby are interconnected. The rush to begin work again also affects all aspects of one's health, often beyond the six to eight weeks of postpartum. In order to make changes within our government, our society as a whole should understand what women and infants are truly going through during these initial phases of postpartum and life itself. One can hope that the betterment of parental leave laws in America can result in the betterment of society.
DOI
10.15760/anthos.2023.12.1.10
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40348
Recommended Citation
Brother, Summer
(2023)
"Postpartum and the Pressure to Work,"
Anthós:
Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
https://doi.org/10.15760/anthos.2023.12.1.10
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Psychology Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons
