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In some cultures, there are lots of customs about a woman who has recently given birth to a baby, such as feeding special fancy meals to her, taking special care of her, and so on for (a certain number of days, e.g. 40 days from baby's birth) and of course there's a well-known word that explains this.

I couldn't find anything in the dictionary and thesaurus and based on my search keywords. Does it exist in English?

P.S.: The term new mother is quite general that won't refer to this certain period just after birth.

Laurel
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Neeku
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    The period is called the "postpartum" period. But that is the period, not the woman. You asked for "word ... for a woman who.." – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 21:18
  • Right @TRomano. I was just about to check that word in the dictionary. Don't you think new mother isn't specific enough? Or is it just my false assumption? – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 21:20
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    False assumption. New mother = woman who has recently given birth (for the first time). At least in American English. – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 21:20
  • Primigravida is a woman who is pregnant for the first time, however,the woman in question has recently delivered. – Misti Dec 02 '14 at 21:21
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    Also, are you looking for a medical term or a layman's term? – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 21:22
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    The term postpartum woman would be widely understood and fits, but for the single-word-requests limitation. Not every concept can, or should, be described with a single word. – Spehro Pefhany Dec 02 '14 at 21:26
  • @TRomano Either is fine, but not necessarily the first-time mother. – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 21:31
  • @SpehroPefhany Fair enough. Why not make it an answer? and why the down-vote? – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 21:32
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    In Yiddish, it would be Kimputurin :) – Gitty Dec 02 '14 at 21:39
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    Postnatal also refers to the period, so a 'postnatal mother' would be understood as a mother in the period immediately following the birth of their new baby. – A E Dec 02 '14 at 22:04
  • If either a medical or a layman's term is fine, @Neeku, it's not a real question ;-) Would one say "A menopausal lady wearing a blue hat walked into the flower shop." ?? – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 22:09
  • TRomano I'm looking for a word that would be understandable to an average person, e.g. "This meal is usually made for postpartum women." @SpehroPefhany 's comment is a good answer, but they don't seem to be interested in making it an answer! – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 22:13
  • Odd, considering the new policy where stackexchange points can be converted into bitcoin! – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 22:23
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    WHAT @TRomano?!? I hadn't heard of that one! I'm speechless! – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 22:36
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    The problem with postpartum is that it is so tied to depression that the two are almost one word. Likely most will not hear woman and think you are talking about a meal for depressed people. – Oldcat Dec 03 '14 at 01:24
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    I don't think there is any such word. There is no English-speaking culture I'm aware of in which it would be needed - for example, there is no "meal which is usually made" for a newborn's mother. Well, unless you count "anything she wants". :-) – Harry Johnston Dec 03 '14 at 03:09
  • Postpartum refers to no specific time period (you mentioned 40 days). Postpartum depression can last months to more than a year. And to call a new mother a postpartum woman just for the sake of having a term to fit what you want is forcing the issue. We don't have a generally used term except the one you reject. – pazzo Dec 03 '14 at 03:26
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    An issue you can have imho with medical terms such as puerperal and postpartum is that such terms are bound to privileged and confidential information. For instance I don't think could you disclose to anyone that a new mother is no longer in the puerperium phase. –  Dec 03 '14 at 07:00
  • @HarryJohnston Check out this link to see how it exists in English culture as well. – Neeku Dec 05 '14 at 23:09
  • there's also the phrase-request tag, if you're interested. – Mari-Lou A Dec 05 '14 at 23:16
  • @Mari-LouA Thanks, just added that, too. Shouldn't there be a more general tag for this purpose? I'm always confused when I'm asking for a word/phrase that doesn't not necessary need to be a single one. – Neeku Dec 05 '14 at 23:18
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    The phrase-request, as I understand it, covers answers that are NOT made up of of single words. – Mari-Lou A Dec 06 '14 at 00:18
  • @Neeku: I didn't think you were talking about healthcare. Generally speaking such advice (including the site you link to) is focused on women who have given birth for the first time, so the slight ambiguity in "new mother" doesn't really matter. – Harry Johnston Dec 06 '14 at 01:36

6 Answers6

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The woman is often referred to as "a new mother".

P.S. I would be reluctant to advise that she be called a "postpartum mother" or a "postpartum woman" because there are bound to be readers who would take that phrase to mean "a woman with postpartum depression". Sometimes writing is much like defensive driving.

The New Mother - Taking Care of Yourself After Birth

TimR
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  • I'd suggest you editing your answer and adding postpartum and maybe some more detail so that it looks better. (: – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 21:28
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    If you edit your question and its title, then I'd be happy to add postpartum to the answer. But as I said, it's not a term for the woman, but for the period she's entered. – TimR Dec 02 '14 at 21:53
  • Actually, I'd bet that "new mom" (the term that came to my mind first) is more common in the US than "new mother". And if you want something more "formal" then probably the adjective "postpartum" would be reasonably well recognized and understood. – Hot Licks Dec 02 '14 at 22:08
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    @Neeku An answer does not have to be long to be correct. If you want to talk about cultural aspects of the time right after birth (as opposed to medical aspects), new mother is the acceptable term, at least in North America. (New mom could be used in informal situations, but I would not say it is more common.) Postpartum and especially perperal are restricted to medical contexts. One limitation: some people might interpret "new mother" as only applying after the first child, and not after subsequent births. – AmeliaBR Dec 02 '14 at 22:21
  • @AmeliaBR I found the term postpartum very helpful, and I would like the answerer mention it in their post body, as well. (: – Neeku Dec 02 '14 at 22:37
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    Even if a mother could not be said to be a "new mother", she would still be made mother anew. The bonding with the child is individualized; as is filiation and other deeply rooted cultural and normative considerations. –  Dec 03 '14 at 02:56
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    But we're talking idiomatic use here. Each birth may be a unique experience, and her mothering may change, but motherhood itself is for a woman new only once. – TimR Dec 03 '14 at 11:13
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Puerperal - Relating to, connected with, or occurring during childbirth or the period immediately following childbirth. FED

Puerperium - the period between childbirth and the return of the uterus to its normal size - Merriam-Webster - "A woman in the early puerperium".

Community
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Centaurus
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The term postpartum woman would be widely understood and fits, but for the single-word-requests limitation. Not every concept can, or should, be described with a single word.

Postpartum is widely understood, in part, because of the recognition of the phenomenon of postpartum depression and popular coverage of PPD in the media.

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Spehro Pefhany
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Post-gravid is an alternative to Puerperal that may be more easily comprehended (ymmv):

Used in a research paper, and nih.gov

SrJoven
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mcalex
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In American culture, I have not heard of a single word that would describe a woman who just gave birth. The phrases I have heard in spoken English has been:

  • Jane, who is recovering from childbirth.

  • Jane, who is recovering from the delivery of her son.

  • Jane, who just had a baby.

All of these expressions I have heard after a woman has had a first baby or subsequent baby.

Sarah Poger Gladstone
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    But these are instances immediately following the birth of a baby. If a new baby is often called newborn what about its mother? – Mari-Lou A Dec 04 '14 at 18:18
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Different customs have different words for a woman who just gave birth. Here are a few 1.The New Mother 2.Baby Mother 3.Baby Mama

CaptainOFI
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    "Baby Mama", particularly in the U.S., has a very different meaning -- the mother of your child, when you are no longer in a direct relationship with that woman. – AmeliaBR Dec 02 '14 at 22:16
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    At least in the U.S., #2 and #3 are definitely incorrect. They would imply more along the line of what Amelia said. I have heard the terms jokingly used in reference a current wife, but both terms imply that the speaker is the father and neither term implies that the delivery was particularly recent. – reirab Dec 03 '14 at 03:29
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    "Baby Mama" and "Baby Daddy" (in the U.S.) means the parent of your child to whom you are not married, nor were ever married to. I have heard it being used by a unmarried father to refer to his current girlfriend (who was also the mother of his child). If the parents are divorced, then typically they would say "ex-wife" or "former wife" – Sarah Poger Gladstone Dec 05 '14 at 16:39