evidence: By — Laura Santhanam Laura Santhanam Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/broken-tired-and-ashamed-how-health-care-fails-new-moms Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter It’s time to recognize the damage of childbirth, doctors and mothers say Health May 7, 2021 5:50 PM EDT Generations of women have quietly endured the messy business of giving birth. Even after reading stacks of pregnancy books, faithfully following their health care provider’s advice and successfully delivering a healthy baby, women often enter motherhood with what suddenly feels like a broken body. They involuntarily pee when they sneeze or cough. It hurts to sit. They may feel consumed by anxiety or depression. Often, they feel too ashamed to ask for help, especially when they are laser-focused on trying to care for their brand-new baby. Many find that when they do speak up, their concerns are waved away as part of the healing process — one of the wide array of "normal" changes that happen to the body after giving birth.