A History of Postpartum Depression in the United States

In his bestselling childcare manual American pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock advised new moms:“If you begin to feel at all depressed, go to a movie, or to the beauty parlor, or to get yourself a new hat or dress.” Although puerperal insanity had been a recognized diagnosis at the end of the 19th Century, doctors in the early 20th century dismissed the postpartum onset of psychiatric symptoms as “pure coincidence.” It would take decades of activism by both parent groups and clinicians for the effects of postpartum depression, anxiety, and psychosis to be recognized and studied, with limited federal funding for programming finally being approved in late 2016. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Rachel Louise Moran, Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas and author of Blue: A History of Postpartum Depression in America.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Alone with the Darkness,” by NaturesEye; the music is available via the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is a photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Additional Sources:

• The International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health
• Postpartum Support International
• “Postpartum Depression Support Groups in the U.S. & Canada,” Postpartum Progress.
• “Perinatal Depression,” National Institute for Mental Health.
• “Shedding More Light on Postpartum Depression,” by Rachel Ewing, Penn Medicine News, January 4, 2016.
• “New treatment for postpartum depression offers hope, but the stigma attached to the condition still lingers,” by Nicole Lynch and Shannon Pickett, The Conversation, October 19, 2023.
• “The Neurobiology of Postpartum Anxiety and Depression,” by Jodi S Pawluski, Joseph S Lonstein, and Alison S Fleming, Trends in Neurosciences, 2017, 40 (2), pp.106-120. ff10.1016/j.tins.2016.11.009ff. Ffhal01452985f.
• “Exploring predictors and prevalence of postpartum depression among mothers: Multinational study,” by Amer, S.A., Zaitoun, N.A., Abdelsalam, H.A. et al.,  BMC Public Health 24, 1308 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18502-0.
• “Federal Legislative History,” Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA).

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