Overview

A powerful look at the changing cultural understanding of postpartum depression in America. New motherhood is often seen as a joyful moment in a woman's life; for some women, it is also their lowest moment. For much of the twentieth century, popular and medical voices blamed women who had emotional and mental distress after childbirth for their own suffering. By the end of the century, though, women with postpartum mental illnesses sought to take charge of this narrative. In Blue: A History of Postpartum Depression in America, Rachel Louise Moran explores the history of the naming and mainstreaming of postpartum depression. Coalitions of maverick psychiatrists, psychologists, and women who themselves had survived substantial postpartum distress fought to legitimize and normalize women's experiences. They argued that postpartum depression is an objective and real illness and fought to avoid it being politicized alongside other fraught medical and political battles over women's health. Based on insightful oral histories and in-depth archival research, Blue reveals a secret history of American motherhood, women's political activism, and the rise of postpartum depression advocacy amid an often-censorious conservative culture. By breaking new ground with the first book-length history of postpartum mental illness in the twentieth century, Moran brings mothers' battles with postpartum depression out of the shadows and into the light.

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9780226835792

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Reviews

"""Dr. Rachel Moran has written the first all-encompassing account of the complexities and long history of postpartum mental illness. It is monumental, definitive and accurate. I recommend it as required reading for everyone.""  -- Jane Honikman, author of 'Postpartum is Forever: Social Support from Conception through Grandparenthood' ""In a narrative that sparkles with vivid oral histories, Moran offers a nuanced, perceptive and empathetic history of postpartum mental health activism. Analyzing the delicate and savvy balancing act of activists working to rally broad support for women’s mental health in a polarized culture, Blue offers a case study critical to our current moment."" -- Lara Freidenfelds, author of 'The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy: A History of Miscarriage in America'"

"""Dr. Rachel Moran has written the first all-encompassing account of the complexities and long history of postpartum mental illness. It is monumental, definitive and accurate. I recommend it as required reading for everyone."" --Jane Honikman, author of 'Postpartum is Forever: Social Support from Conception through Grandparenthood'"

Author Information

Rachel Louise Moran is an associate professor of history at the University of North Texas. She is the author of Governing Bodies: American Politics and the Shaping of the Modern Physique.  

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