Postnatal And Postpartum | What’s Are The 4 Differences?

We´ve heard about the postnatal and postpartum period. Most of us have a clear idea that both terms refer to the time after a baby is born or the time after giving birth.

But are ‘postpartum’ and ‘postnatal’ the same thing? If not, what’s the main difference between postpartum and postnatal? What’s postnatal care? Or is it postpartum care?

What’s the right term? Postnatal depression or postpartum depression? I’m sure you’ve heard both terms but which one is the correct one?

Read on to find out the main differences between postnatal and postpartum.

What’s the postpartum period?

‘Post’ means after and ‘partum’ means to give birth. Therefore, the postpartum is the period in a woman’s life right after giving birth.

The postpartum is one of the most beautiful periods a new mother goes through. There is a proverb that says, ‘The greatest joy is to become a mother, the second greatest is to be a midwife’.

I am a mother and a midwife and, as much as I love my job, I can tell you that the first joy outweighs the second by far.

At the same time, if the support and health care a new mother receives are not adequate it can offer many risk factors and lead to a deterioration of a woman’s health.

Mental health problems, such as clinical depression, puerperal psychosis, or even the ‘baby blues’ can all arise during the postpartum. Make sure you are well supported and talk to your healthcare provider if those feelings you are experiencing are overwhelming. She’ll be able to assess your symptoms and give you advice. She can also make referrals to the appropriate doctor if you need a diagnosis or medical treatment.

How long is the postpartum period?

The postpartum period is divided into two categories:

Early postpartum period

The early postpartum period is the time when the woman’s body starts to go back to its non-pregnant state and her uterus goes back to its non-pregnant size. This takes around six to eight weeks from childbirth.

The first days postpartum are very intense and, as the World Health Organization states, new mothers, need lots of support. Mood disorders are common, due to hormonal readjustments and breastfeeding. Infant feeding needs to be established, recovery from childbirth is taking place, there’s lack of sleep and additional concerns, such as previous medical conditions or complications from birth and a new mother’s anxiety. All these factors add up and can make parenting in the first few days very hard.

Natural postpartum period

The natural postpartum period doesn’t depend on a set time frame but rather on each woman’s individual experience.

The natural postpartum period can last from a few weeks up to a couple of years. During this time the maternal protective instinct is at its highest. If the woman is breastfeeding her child, the natural postpartum period tends to be longer. Usually, this natural postpartum period ends when the woman’s menstrual period appears or she gets pregnant again.

As midwife Robin Lim says, ‘Once pregnancy finishes, a woman will be a postpartum woman for the rest of her life’.

What’s the postnatal period?

‘Natal’ refers to the action of being born. The term ‘postnatal period’ refers to the newborn baby.

It’s easy to say when it starts but not so easy to say when it finishes.

You might have heard of the fourth trimester. Because newborn babies need to be next to their mothers all the time for the first few weeks following birth, the term the fourth trimester is used to describe this time when mother and baby are almost still an item. They need to be in close contact with one another for correct bonding and development.

#1 Difference between postnatal and postpartum

The difference, then, between the postpartum and the postnatal period is that ‘postpartum’ refers to the mother and ‘postnatal’ refers to the infant.

#2 Difference between puerperium and postpartum

‘Puer’ means child in Latin, and puerperium literally means ‘the period of the baby’. It’s usually used as a synonym for postpartum. In some languages, like Spanish, puerperium is the most commonly used word to define this period in a woman’s life.

#3 Difference between postnatal and postpartum depression

Depression that happens to women in their postpartum period is rightly called postpartum depression.

Although you might have heard a lot about the term ‘postnatal depression’ it’s obviously not something that the baby suffers, but the new mother. Although the proper terminology is postpartum depression, everybody understands it’s new mothers who experience it and not their babies. Whether it’s called postnatal or postpartum depression it comes under postpartum care. If you’re feeling tired, overwhelmed, sad, or have any other depression symptoms, talk to your healthcare provider.

Postpartum depression occurs in far too many women and the numbers are growing.

Risks for developing postpartum depression

Research shows that some of the risks for developing postpartum depression are:

1. Doctor-led care. Although medicine and pharmacological treatments have made a lot of progress, the high medicalization of pregnancy and birth has left many women with a lot of unnecessary scars (physical and mental). If you haven’t ‘owned’ the birth process and if it really feels like a ‘delivery’ has taken place instead of you giving birth, then the feeling of being a mere spectator at the biggest event in your life can lead to mental health problems
2. Previous mental health problems. If you’ve suffered from other mental illnesses, such as anxiety or depression, earlier in life, this places you at higher risk of developing postpartum depression
3. Traumatic birth. If you’ve experienced a traumatic birth you’re at a higher risk of developing depression symptoms.

Make sure you talk to someone and get the appropriate advice, maternal health care, and, if necessary, treatment.

You can read more about postpartum depression, symptoms, and treatment in these articles:

Postpartum Depression Symptoms | 9 Signs You Have PPD

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale | Take The Test

Drug Commonly Used During Labour Linked To Postnatal Depression.

#4 Difference between baby blues and postpartum

During the first week following childbirth, many changes occur in the life of a new mother. Not only has her pregnancy ended but she’s been in labor and she’s given birth. For many women, this has usually happened in a hospital or center rather than their own homes. Her body is still recovering, she’s bleeding, feeding a baby, and probably doing all this on very little sleep.

During pregnancy, the hormonal balance has been easier to manage as the change has been gradual. After birth, a woman experiences a hormonal rearrangement that lasts for a few days and is commonly known as baby blues. It’s usually a normal part of postpartum women’s health. There are mood swings – some quite important that don’t require any treatment. It just takes a bit of time until the woman adapts to the new situation.

Baby blues happens during the first few days of the postpartum period. As we’ve already seen in the definition of postpartum, from the national library, postpartum is a much longer period than the time of hormonal readjustment.

Is peripartum the same as postpartum?

‘Peri’ means around, so peripartum is the time before, during, and after birth. Perinatal is used more than peripartum. As there are some conditions that can happen around childbirth, the term ‘peripartum’ or ‘perinatal’ is then used. For example, when we talk about pre-eclampsia most people think that this happens mainly during pregnancy. However an eclamptic seizure can happen in pregnancy, during labor, or after the woman has given birth.

You can read more in the article Postpartum Preeclampsia | Treatment, Symptoms And Causes.

Another example of this terminology is perinatal mental health. Because support is so important in the peripartum period, we use the term perinatal mental health to address the extra care that is usually necessary in this intense emotional period of great change.