What the first three months actually look like
Two out of three women are exhausted, almost half have back pain, and nearly one in three has a perineum that still hurts.
A study in Melbourne followed 1,507 women through their first pregnancy and asked them, at set points, what was actually wrong. Not what was serious enough to report. What was there.
| Symptom | Women reporting it in the first 3 months |
|---|---|
| Tiredness | 67% |
| Back pain | 47% |
| Breast problems | 37% |
| Painful perineum | 30% |
| Urinary incontinence | 29% |
A separate survey took a different approach. It went to every woman who gave birth in one Australian state across a two-week period, and asked her six to seven months later. Of the 1,336 who replied, 94% reported at least one health problem in the first six months. Tiredness 69%, backache 43.5%, sexual problems 26.3%, haemorrhoids 24.6%, perineal pain 21%.
And this, which is the reason the guide exists: a quarter of them had not talked to any health professional about their own health since the birth. Of the women who did have problems, 49% said they would have liked more help or advice.
Both studies are Australian, and the survey was done in 1993 with 62.5% of women replying, so do not take 94% as a current American number. What travels is the shape. Almost everyone has something. Most of it is invisible from the outside. A large minority of it never reaches a clinician at all.
"None of these are emergencies. I would still like them written down."