Healthcare in Pakistan
Depression often starts at young age and affects women more commonly than men. One or two mothers out of 10 have depression after childbirth. Depression also limits a mother’s capacity to care for her child, and can seriously affect the child’s growth and development. A study showed that exposure to maternal mental distress is associated with undernutrition in 9‐month infants in urban Pakistan.
Maternity leave in the United States
Depression is a condition with both mental and physical side effects and can be very debilitating depending on the severity. The risk factors vary from person to person and women are typically diagnosed with depression more than men. Other than trauma, physical illness, certain personality traits, and previous family history, pregnancy can be a cause of depression in women. Symptoms of this disease include, loss of interest in activities, difficulty focusing, thinking, making decisions, and remembering things, anxiety, irritation, slowed speaking, physical pains, and feelings of sadness and worthlessness. Any combination of these symptoms makes simple tasks seem daunting and almost impossible. Women who just gave birth are already managing recovering from the severe physical symptoms while taking care of a newborn child and adding symptoms of depression to this mixture can be a huge burden on them. When these new mothers go back to work they have the added stress of worrying about their child and balancing their family and work roles. Mothers who return to work soon after a birth of a child are likely to get depressed than other mothers; therefore, longer paid maternity leave has the potential to help new mothers. Women will have more time to recover from giving birth both mentally and physically, which can help prevent the onset of depression.