Foreword: Respectful, Equitable, and Supportive Postpartum Care

The postpartum period is a precious part of life: the health and wellbeing of at least 2 generations are at stake. Although the World Health Organization calls for a standard of care that promotes “positive” postpartum experiences with a “resourced and flexible health system”, these goals are largely aspirational. In her book, Baby Doctor, pediatrician Perri Klass writes about the moments immediately after birth. She describes how all eyes in the delivery room turn to the baby—except for the midwife or the obstetrician, who are the “only ones still paying attention to mom.” Anthropologist Shelia Kitzinger similarly wrote that “the spotlights are dimmed” for women after childbirth. In American medicine, we do not pay much attention to birthing people once the cord is clamped. The underlying notion of women as being worthy of focus only while they are vessels for new life is deeply harmful. It is as though the baby is the candy and the mother is the wrapper. After the candy is out, the wrapper is cast aside. This transactional thinking and treatment around childbirth is a tragedy, with short-term and long-term consequences.