The pressures of motherhood can often lead to post-natal depression, according to Adelaide academic Victoria Williamson and Post and Antenatal Depression Association (PANDA) chief executive Belinda Horton.

The illness is estimated to affect one in six Australian mothers and about 200 people call PANDA’s helpline each month.

The lack of awareness of what mothers go through, and the inability to discuss it for fear of others’ judgement, can imprison mothers behind walls of silence and happy pretences…

Ms Horton, PANDA’s CEO, says the losses involved with becoming a mother are not realised. She cites the loss of finances, freedom, worker identity and couple time as examples of negatives that weigh up against the positives, such as developing an amazing relationship with a new baby…

Dr Williamson says her 2005 study of 12 women with post-natal depression found they felt pressured to live up to media images of the perfect mother. She says the mothers would pretend things were happy, like the scenes depicted in family commercials, when actually they were feeling dreadful.

“They were often not wanting to admit to themselves, let alone anyone else, that motherhood wasn’t easy, wasn’t perfect, was actually quite painful in some ways,” Williamson says…

Williamson believes new myths have continually been pushed onto women since the 1950s.

In the 50s, it was the myth of the perfect happy housewife, followed by the 70s career woman, the 80s superwoman and the 1990s beauty myth of looking like a thin catwalk model…

So what needs to be done to help bring the reality of motherhood into the open?

Williamson says more education, support and realistic media images.

“I think firstly public education, about the reality of motherhood, so that those that don’t become depressed, but are just struggling with the normal adjustment process, can have a realistic idea of what to expect, with some ideas of resources if they need them,” she says.

“Women need to help each other more, rather than criticise each other and media needs to give more realistic portrayals of motherhood in newspapers and magazines and television programs. We need to debunk things such as the beauty myth and the superwoman myth and the myth of the perfect mother.”

Source: TVNZ, New Zealand
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1416764