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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
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I am an Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas, where I have taught since 2014. I research, write, and teach about modern U.S. politics, health and medicine, and gender and women’s history.
My new book is Blue: A History of Postpartum Depression in America. It comes out with the University of Chicago Press in October 2024. The book uses archival research and oral histories to bring histories of psychiatry, psychology, and women’s health into conversation with U.S. political and cultural history. I examine both the history of the diagnosis of postpartum depression in the modern US and the role of activism. Activists and advocates have sought to help women experiencing postpartum distress, and one of the primary strategies has been to legitimize postpartum mental illness. This has separated postpartum illness from many other “women’s health issues,” through its investment in medicalization, partnerships with psychiatry and psychology, and caution about wading into political controversy.
My first book, Governing Bodies: American Politics and the Shaping of the Modern Physique, came out with the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. The book explores how the United States government developed policies over time meant to quite literally ‘shape’ American citizens. From the height-weight tables of the Children’s Bureau to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, I argue that managing and molding American bodies has long been an interest of federal agencies – an interest that has required unique political maneuvering. You can he… Read More
