The postpartum experience can be challenging enough for American mothers in normal times, but add a pandemic to the equation, and you may be left with a postpartum nightmare. To better understand what the birthing and postpartum experiences looked like in the early days of the pandemic and how the current Omicron surge mirrors those early days for new mothers, we spoke with Dr. Tova Walsh, an Assistant Professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Walsh has spent the last two years interviewing women who gave birth in the earliest days of the pandemic - an experience she shares with her research subjects. She explained the challenges these new mothers faced and laid out policy recommendations to improve postpartum care going forward.

For more of Tova Walsh's work:

Check out her recent opinion article published in NBC News: As COVID surges, health officials must remember that in-person postpartum care is essential

Listen to her interviews about the experience of early parenting during the pandemic, on Wisconsin Public Radio and Slate's parenting podcast.