How long should moms rest after giving a birth to a baby?

Question

I know that some people can walk right after childbirth, but most of asians need to rest for at least a month in order to walk or be active again.

Usually how long do they have to rest?
Do you know how long your mom took a rest after childbirth?

Answer 1

Let me think..after I gave birth to my first child...I got to rest for about one hour!

Answer 2

I was walking 24 hours after giving birth. Not a lot, but I could do everything on my own. I did need help getting in and out of the car because I had stitches, but that was about it. My husband is half-Asian and I'm very close to his family. No one ever had to rest a month to be active again. I did take it easy for a couple of weeks because I was bonding with my baby but I drove to the doctor's appt 2 weeks later with no problem. I also live in an upstairs apartment so I had to go up and down the stairs all the time. I'm pregnant now and don't expect recovery after childbirth to be much different than last time.

Answer 3

Asians don't NEED to rest for 1 month, that is their culture. They have to walk, how do you think they go to the bathroom for a month? I work in mom baby at the hospital. ALL patients are up with in 1-2 hours after delivery for a regular and within 8 hours for a c-section (as long as there are no complications oc course). A good amount of rest time for a vag is about a week before lifting, driving, etc and for a C/S it is atleast 2 weeks until they go back to the doctor, their pain is less, they are not on strong drugs, and their incision is healing well.

Answer 4

The Asian thing is really a matter of culture which would apply in Asia.

In the US, with all the conveniences available to everybody here, most women don't work all that hard (in comparison to say a woman who is a farmer) and can return to most of her daily duties in a week or so. That said, moms with kids at home already, often take up all their duties as soon as they get home because there isn't anybody else to do it. This is really generalized though--some women really need a month off because of problems resulting from childbirth.

Answer 5

Everyone is different as to how long it will take before they feel good again. However, most women who deliver vaginally are walking around right after the birth, and it only takes a week or so to recover. The area is still sore, but walking is recommended to help the area heal. Women who deliver via C-sections are usually able to walk 2-7 days after birth, but doctors recommend taking it easy for 2-3 weeks.
In both cases, exercise is not recommended until 6 weeks after delivery.
As for Asians needing more time to recover, I don't personally believe ethnicity has anything to do with how much/little pain you are in. The healthier you are pre-pregnancy and during, the faster you will recover.
I recently delivered my first, as literally 15 minutes after having her the nurse made me walk to the shower. Once I came home I was walking around when I needed to, although it was uncomfortable I wasn't dying or anything.
My mother was walking around taking care of me & my sister when I was born - no time off!

Answer 6

I don't know of a single Mom who has the luxury of resting for a month after the baby is born. Most USA woman go home in 24 to 26 hours and are very busy taking care of the baby and other children and husband.

She may bet 6 weeks off work but it will not be resting.

Answer 7

That is completely untrue. A friend of my mother's (who is Asian) recently had her first child and was functioning normally like the rest of the world.
Ideally, you should have someone to give you a hand for 1 week, especially if you have other children around. After labor I was up and walking an hour or so after delivering. My husband took a week off of work (as did my mother) and it was wonderful to have extra hands to get me a drink or wash the dishes so I could tend to our daughter. You are sore, swollen, and tired, especially the first week. The tiredness, well, that never goes away once you become a parent.
My mother only had 4 weeks of maternity leave with me because she was in the military. But, again, you do what you have to do. If there's no one to help, you get up and make yourself a meal. Or do the dishes. You feel awful, but this is what your body is meant to do.

Answer 8

I never heard that about Asian people...I wonder if that's not more of a cultural thing and not an actual physical thing?

Here in the states...you're up and walking around soon after birth...and leaving the hospital within 2 days.

With all my children...I literally was out of bed, dressed and taking care of my baby (and other children) within two hours of giving birth. (shoot...I even walked down to the lobby of the hospital to visit with a friend who wasn't allowed in the ward- she had a newborn and after discharge they don't allow little babies back on the ward because of safety issues).

It's not really feasible to "rest" for a month....newborns need a ton of attention with feeding every two hours...and there's a ton of laundry (from just baby) and yourself to bathe and feed as well. You rest when you can....usually sleeping whenever the baby sleeps and you of course can enlist the help of friends and family to help out with housework and feeding daddy. But I wouldn't plan on staying in bed longer than you normally would for sleeping. Babies do better tempermentally if you change scenery once in a while (from bed to swing etc)

Good luck.

Answer 9

I think your confusing cultural tradition with medical needs. Most women who have a normal vaginal delivery will be up and walking around....admittedly with pain..within a few hours. All women will need more rest then they did before the birth...Healing up from delivery and dealing with the sleep deprevation a newborn causes will wear you out. I was up out of bed as soon as my epidural wore off since I couldn't stand being sweaty from the delivery. I didn't get back to my normal energy level for a few months but then my son wasn't sleeping longer then 20 minutes at a time and the only person he would settle down for was me so I was up and doing things much more then I probably should have been.

Answer 10

I walked from one hospital room to another less than 24 hrs after birthing my 2nd. I went home the next day and never blinked about it. with this one I will be delivering at home and will be walking once I am cleaned up. there is no reason to just sit or lie down for an extended period of time after birthing a baby in my opinion unless it was a c-section.

Answer 11

My mom was in the hospital for 24 hours after she had myself and my sister. I left the hospital after 12 hours with all 4 of my children. I stopped at the store to go grocery shopping after leaving the hospital with baby 4. In certain cultures, its normal for family members to take care of the mom for weeks after giving birth. I know my neighbor didn't leave the house for 2 months after having her baby.