Ep. 48 Melancholy Mothers: A History of Peripartum Psychiatry

Some people say that women ~ glow ~ when they are pregnant. Or that having a baby is one of the best memories they have. But did you know 80% of women have depressive symptoms in the week following childbirth? Or that ⅛ women develop a condition called postpartum depression? Some women are even at risk for manic or psychotic episodes in the postpartum period. These conditions are so prevalent that there is a whole field of psychiatry dedicated to caring for women’s mental health during pregnancy and in the postpartum period! Join us in this episode to learn about how the field of peripartum psychiatry developed from ancient Greece, through medical times, and into the 1800s! Then we will spend some time exploring current theories behind the most common peripartum mental illnesses and discussing how obstetrics takes part in this field today.

Feminist Corner: 

• Obstetrics as a field is often viewed as very different from other medical and surgical specialties. In reality, it is very closely linked to other fields of medicine, especially psychiatry in this case. What are some ways that obstetricians can take part in multidisciplinary practices?

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