narratives of postpartum depression
In response to the first theme, focusing on the expectations placed upon mothers, this piece attempts to capture the confinement of both femininity and motherhood.
The pink box represents the boxes in which women are categorized to be "good women" or "good mothers", yet the abstracted body on the interior is suspended, unable to move. The tension on the seams of the abstracted body also begin to pull it apart, paralleling the way societal expectations can shape identity.
One of the central themes we explored was the expectations placed upon women and new mothers and how those expectations could place pressure upon women to conform to certain ideas of what it means to be a "good mother." In this podcast, we talked with Natalie, a nurse and mother from Alabama. She talked about the ways that these expectations shaped the trajectory of her life, particularly in terms of her career.
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Paralleling the theme of medicalization, this work's connection is rather obvious. Taking the form of a medicine bottle, it evokes prescription medication. Yet the bright pink label is off putting, throwing off the facade. The text, with "This will make you happy. This will make you better." among other phrases, parallels the medical establishment's perceived authority, but the ending text, "Maybe. Maybe Not", brings up the question of the effectiveness of pharmaceuticalization, leaving it up to the viewer to decided whether in fact it is necessary.
Another theme we focused on was medicalization. In this podcast, we interviewed Corinne, a mother of 2 boys and pediatric nurse who suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her second child. Here, she talks about the process of realizing she had postpartum depression, the medical treatment she received and her view of medical intervention as it relates to her personal experience.
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This piece corresponds to the theme of relationships. Here, there is a group of pins connected to a single pin, placed away from the group to signify isolation. However, the two groups are remain connected, a single pink thread acting as a bridge between them. Each pin is meant to be representative of a person, paralleling Yukie's discussion of feeling supporting and anchoring by her friends, family and colleagues who have supported her.
In this third installment of Narratives of Postpartum Depression, Yukie, a recent mother, shares how she found support, community, and solidarity, how her perceptions of herself changed, and what kind of larger structural support issues she ran up against.
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*** Note to Listeners: These podcasts merely provide a snapshot examples of experiences of women as mothers and their struggles with postpartum depression. We don't intend that these experiences be representative of all women's experiences as mothers or with postpartum depression.
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