VOA常速英语:产妇应定期看医生

When a woman has good prenatal care, the nine months she’s pregnant are filled with doctor’s visits focused on her health and the baby’s. But what about the three months after she gives birth? Rachel Cobb says she was overwhelmed. People have been doing this forever, and it’s this shared experience that everyone has. Yet I feel so lonely and I don’t know how to ask for help. This period is known as the fourth trimester. The fourth trimester can/is overwhelming, and I don’t think anyone can be fully prepared for it. A survey by Orlando Health finds more than a quarter of women did not plan for their own health management following delivery. It’s very important for new moms to follow up with their midwives or their physicians ideally sooner rather than later. 40 percent felt overwhelmed or depressed. You immediately feel like I’m a bad mom because I feel this way, and you’re not.

For poor women, it’s far worse. Another study shows that African American or Hispanic mothers struggle more than white middle-class women. These mothers having low incomes find they’re unable to pay the high costs associated with maintaining a healthy diet, or getting regular exercise, or simply finding time to take care of themselves. He found that these women feel uncomfortable talking to caregivers with different racial or ethnic backgrounds. Some of the mothers I’ve interviewed indicated that they were very worried that if they hold an agency staff person, that they were having troubles keeping up with their baby’s service needs, that the staff never may call an agency that might come to take the baby away from the mother. Yet it’s critical that all women see a doctor during the fourth trimester. A lot of it is just reassurance, but some of it needs to be treated. Professor Keith says health policies need to change so all mothers can have their health needs met.