Can't a mother sing the blues? Postpartum depression and the construction of motherhood in late 20th-century America.

Abstract

Popular depictions of 20th-century American motherhood have typically emphasized the joy and fulfillment that a new mother can expect to experience on her child's arrival. But starting in the 1950s, discussions of the "baby blues" began to appear in the popular press. How did articles about the baby blues, and then postpartum depression, challenge these rosy depictions? In this article, we examine portrayals of postpartum distress in popular magazines and advice books during the second half of the 20th century to examine how the unsettling pairing of distress and motherhood was culturally negotiated in these decades. We show that these portrayals revealed a persistent reluctance to situate motherhood itself as the cause of serious emotional distress and a consistent focus on changing mothers to adapt to their role rather than changing the parameters of the role itself. Regardless of whether these messages actually helped or hindered new mothers themselves, we suggest that they reflected the rarely challenged assumption that motherhood and distress should not mix.

Defying the laws of nature? Menstruation and female intellect in historical perspective

“…New entities, such as premenstrual tension, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual disphoric disorder (PMDD), emerged to further pathologize female physiology. Women's bodies and experiences were subjected to increasing attention and control from the medical establishment (see Held & Rutherford, 2011, Brodsky, 2008, Metzl, 2003. Additionally, further studies during the 20th century were conducted on the effects of menstruation on intelligence and physical labour despite previous findings in the 19th century disproving such claims.…”

The Effect of Evening Primrose Oil on the Intensity of Postpartum Blues Among Primiparous Females: A Double-blind, Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial

“…The cause of the disorder is unknown and researchers linked it with the rapidly changing hormonal level, postpartum physical and psychological stress such as health problems, mental instability after delivery, anxiety of increasing responsibility about baby care, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and concern for the care of other children as well as the spouse (6) U n C o r r e c t e d P r o o f sient and self-limiting and can be observed only during the 1st few days after childbirth (7).…”

Constructions of motherhood and fatherhood in newspaper articles on maternal and paternal postpartum depression

“…An impaired mother-child bond is presumed to be the cause for developmental delays and difficulties that result from MPPD (Held & Rutherford, 2012;Riecher-Rossler & Fallahpour, 2003). So-called deficient mother-baby interactions may impede normal cognitive, language, emotional and/or behavioural development in these children (Beck, 1995;Bishop, & Skuse, 1995;Canuso, 2008;Clay & Seehusen, 2004;CPA, 2009;Riecher-Rossler & Fallahpour, 2003;Stein, Malmberg, Sylva, Barnes, Leach, & the FCCC team, 2008).…”