Postpartum Depression -- The Myths and Misconceptions That Keep Women From Seeking Help
Postpartum depression has become a catch all phrase for the mood disorders that some women experience after delivery or when a pregnancy ends. While research and clinical practice indicate the enormous variation of symptom presentation across many diagnostic categories, the stereotype of postpartum depression persists – the scarlet letter of the 21st century.
In the media, in news stories and among whispered tales in communities across America, the mother with postpartum depression is often depicted as an out of control, non functioning and seriously ill woman who cannot be trusted with her child.
Recently, much has been written about the media’s role in characterizing the extremely rare condition of postpartum psychosis as interchangeable with postpartum depression. We have lamented this clinically and medically erroneous sensationalism as adding to stigma and possibly preventing women from reaching out for fear of social judgment and condemnation. Just last week, ABC’s Private Practice website featured a damning poll questioning whether the psychotic mother depicted on the show had the right to even see her child. How could this possibly encourage a suffering mother to raise her hand?
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