North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) Practice Exam 2026 – The All-in-One Resource to Master Your Midwifery Certification!

The postpartum period, commonly referred to as the puerperium, encompasses the time following childbirth during which the mother's body undergoes physiological and hormonal changes to return to a pre-pregnancy state. This phase typically lasts for about six weeks, during which the body heals from the physical process of giving birth, and adaptations occur in various systems, including the reproductive, endocrine, and urinary systems.

Understanding that this period is specifically associated with recovery and adjustments after delivery clarifies why puerperium is the accurate term to describe this crucial time. It distinguishes the postpartum phase from gestation, which refers to the period of pregnancy itself, and childbirth, which denotes the act of delivering the baby. Recovery phase, while it may suggest a time of healing, is a broader term that does not specifically denote the postpartum context and does not capture the unique biological and emotional changes experienced during this specific time following birth.