New research just published in the BMJ has found that women should not be denied opioid painkillers after childbirth as the drugs are unlikely to harm breastfed babies. This is a welcome step for new parents who are all too often left to deal with painful recovery from childbirth without adequate relief.
But it also highlights a much larger problem. As an historian of women’s health, and someone who is currently pregnant and dealing with severe back pain, it is clear that pain during pregnancy, childbirth and afterwards has been, and remains, routinely dismissed and diminished.
