Getting pregnant and having a baby can do more harm than good to a woman. We often talk about how happy it is to have a child of our own, but it is also a tremendous health exploitation of the mother’s body.

In the long term, what is the relationship between pregnancy and childbirth and some chronic diseases?

First, the incidence of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers was reduced in terms of the relationship between childbirth and malignancy.

  • The risk of breast cancer is related to the length of growth period of a woman. Women who have never been pregnant do have a higher risk of breast cancer than those who have had children. Women who have had their first child later have a higher risk of breast cancer than women who have had their first child earlier.
  • Ovarian cancer is associated with infertility or fewer births. Having at least one birth can be protective, reducing the risk of ovarian cancer by 30 to 40 percent.
  • Women who have never given birth are two to three times more likely to develop endometrial cancer than women who have given birth.
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On the other hand, having more children increases the incidence of cervical cancer. The vast majority of cervical cancers are associated with HPV infection, which is sexually transmitted, so risk factors for cervical cancer include having sex in early age, having multiple partners and having more births.

In addition, giving birth to children can lead to organ damage. More births are associated with an increased risk of urinary incontinence in young women, an increased risk of abnormal bowel function, and an increased risk of pelvic organ prolapse.

In the short term, the impact of pregnancy and childbirth on women is undoubtedly huge. In the process of carrying a baby and giving birth to a child, the heart load will become large, and it is likely to cause gestational hypertension, especially for women with poor cardiac function before pregnancy, and giving birth to a child will only aggravate this situation. Furthermore, pregnancy and childbirth can also lead to a variety of lung diseases. Acute pulmonary edema is one of the most common causes of pregnancy and postpartum women admitted to the intensive care unit. As pregnancy has a depressant effect on the immune system, it is also easy to catch a cold after pregnancy.

Then, during pregnancy, the body’s ability to metabolize glucose is reduced, and gestational diabetes is easy to occur. Moreover, it is more difficult for diabetic patients to control blood glucose after pregnancy. Weight gain during pregnancy is challenging for bones and muscles, and many pregnant women experience back discomfort or pelvic pain.

The process of female pregnancy is actually a process in which the mother and the fetus compete for survival resources. To give birth to this child, she takes more risks. 

This transition from a girl to a woman brings psychological and physical changes. Mom herself is having a hard time accepting and dealing with this change. So, hopefully, the baby’s father will also be with the mother through this period. Postpartum recovery is a way to reduce the risk of all of these hazards. Therefore, mothers must pay attention to their own health recovery. If necessary, can seek professional mother care in Malaysia for help.