Husbands often did the heavier work and took care of the other children in the family. One mother said: “Everybody has to do their part” (24 years, 3-para). A few mothers reported that they did not cook for 40 days, but most of them said that they started to do easy household work LDN 193189 after 14 days, sometimes even after 7 days because there was no option. Some mothers said that their husbands did not help in the housework and

one mother said: “My husband does not do women’s work” (41 years, 7-para). These mothers felt helpless and bad for not having enough help, particularly when they had to start cooking for their family only 14–21 days after childbirth. Although the mothers often said that they did not have any preferences for the sex of the child, many of the mothers said that they wanted sons and one mother said: “A boy means peace in later life” (25 years, 3-para), and if these mothers who wanted a boy instead had a girl, they admitted that they felt sad for having a girl. “Not disappointed. But I feel a little bad. Everybody wants a boy” (20 years, 2-para). The mothers said that neighbours and relatives gossiped and criticized the mother if there were several girls in the family and they admitted that it hurt. “I feel a bit hurt when I hear their words” (30 years, 7-para). The mothers did not feel criticized

by their husbands, but in one family the husband talked about marrying again. This mother said: “If I had had a son this time, I wouldn’t have any Epigenetics Compound high throughput screening more sorrows” (27 years, 2-para). However, if the mothers had sons earlier, they often wanted a girl because as one mother said, “you

need both. A son alone cannot bring happiness, neither can a daughter” (36 years, 7-para). Discussion Worries related to poverty, insecurity in life, and health The mother’s narratives included a lot of worries, anxiety and fear, mostly related to poverty and insecurity in their lives. Similar to Hanlon et al. (2009), we found that pregnancy and childbirth seemed to exacerbate pre-existing problems else in the family. The birth of a child meant one more to feed and increased risk for the mother and baby to become ill and thus, for unexpected expenses for medicine, medical consultations, and hospital stays. The mother’s confinement after birth required more support from her spouse and family, which was not always accessible. The worries were seen by the mothers as the reason for feeling mentally weak. They also explained their poor physical health, thinness, and lack of energy and strength as a result of their many worries. Fischer, Tran, and Tran (2007) did not find any associations between psychosocial risk factors such as a lack of support, negative life events, and postnatal depressive symptoms in their study from Vietnam, which are usually reported in high-income countries as risk factors for maternal depressive symptoms postpartum (Cooper & Murray, 1998).