Why do I feel so sad when I am so happy? I must be a bad
mother.
Having a baby is usually a reason for happiness and celebration.
Depression after childbirth causes emotional pain and suffering
that lives side by side with the joy. That is the underlying
paradox and it is that paradox that frequently leads to sense of
bewilderment and guilt.
Through the stories of 24 women trying to negotiate their lives as
mothers, Paula Nicolson helps women understand more about the
realities of motherhood. Ninety percent of new mothers find
themselves in tears and feeling ‘down’ soon after giving birth and
one in ten will become depressed during the first year. Postnatal
Depression: Facing the paradox of loss, happiness and motherhood
shows how better self-knowledge and a greater understanding of PND
can help lift the burden and restore self esteem and harmony to
mothers and their families.
Inhoudsopgave
Introduction
Being depressed
What is depression? – official and unofficial definitions
What it feels like to be depressed
Who gets it and what causes it?
Explaining depression
What is postnatal depression?
Discovering the paradox
Different theories and different kinds of depression
The baby blues
Postnatal distress and depressed moods
Postnatal depression
What causes postnatal depression? Why me? Why now?
Different approaches to understanding women’s postnatal
experiences
Trauma following birth
Factors influencing PTSD
Worrying about the baby’s health and welfare
Getting the best support over the postnatal period
Coping with depressed moods
Finding social support
Not all company is supportive
Getting support to prevent PND
What has happened to me?
Motherhood and the arrival of self-confidence
Happiness and loss: the paradox of postnatal depression
Introduction
The experience of loss
The healthy grief reaction
Losing sleep
Losing time
Bodies
Feeling too fat
Losing your looks
Losing your ‘mind’
Losing my self
Being clear about who you really are
Finding yourself as a mother
Being a ‘good’ mother: the paradox of sacrifice
Introduction
What is the truth about the maternal instinct
Is maternal instinct a biological drive?
Is there a paternal instinct?
Is biology destiny?
Were you born knowing how to bath a baby?
The father’s role
Is a good woman the same as a good mother?
But, what does make a good mother?
Negotiating the boundaries bewteeen self and other
Voices of the experts
Postnatal depression by proxy
Introduction
The paradoxical burden
Women’s rage: gender relations or PND by proxy?
What do women expect?
Penelope’s story
Wendy’s story
Isobel’s story
Understanding PND by proxy
Challenging the paradox and getting on with your life
Introduction
Taking control: when and how
Social support
Emotions fitness
Cognitive-analytic therapy (CAT)
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
Physical fitness
Where do we go from here?
Conclusions
Portraits of the women
Over de auteur
Paula Nicolson, University of Sheffield, UK.
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