This section of the APPPAH Newsletter is intended to draw attention to items in the news that are pertinent to prenatal and perinatal psychology. APPPAH does not necessarily agree with, or vouch for, the scientific worthiness of any of the news items mentioned here. We mean merely to take note of what is going on, so that you may.
PRE-BIRTH MATERNITY LEAVE AIDS BABIES AND MOMS
UC Berkeley researchers found that maternity leave taken before giving birth is good for both moms and their babies, since women who worked right up until delivery day were more likely to have a cesarean section. In the first study of how the time off work relates to the health of both mothers and babies, researchers looked at 447 Southern California women who worked full time and compared those who took leave after the 35th week of pregnancy and those who worked up to their due date; women who took leave early were nearly four times less likely to have a C-section.
