Mums speak out about their struggles following a C-section in support of Burnley paternity rights charity

People For Partners campaigns for dads to have longer than two weeks’ of paternity leave when their partners give birth by emergency caesarean.

It believes men need at least six weeks’ off work to help care for their family, in line with recovery times.

The operation left one woman feeling so week that daily tasks became almost impossible to do on her own.

The mum, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I had to get help getting in and out of bed and, when I was on my own, I rolled out of bed in great difficulty. I have had massive help from friends and family with lifting things throughout the past six weeks, helping me with shopping, moving the pram up and down the stairs etc. I found the recovery a lot harder than I ever imagined.”

Another woman, known as Rebecca, said trying to look after a baby without enough time to rest put her back in hospital.

"I ended up with two infections in my stitches from overdoing it after my surgery and was in and out of hospital for three weeks after the birth. My other half luckily had some annual leave saved up so he took two weeks of that after his two-week paternity, otherwise I wouldn’t have coped.”

And a third, “Becks”, fears how she will cope when her partner returns to work.

“My other half is currently on week two of paternity leave and taking another week’s annual leave then I’ll be alone trying to juggle a newborn and a four-year-old.”