No space for mother's mind: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study of the experiences of women with a diagnosis of postnatal depression

• Published in: International journal of applied psychoanalytic studies 2021-12, Vol.18 (4), p.393-407
• Main Authors: Hesse Tyson, Caragh, O'Connor, John, Sheehan, John D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anxiety; childbirth; containment; holding; Mothers; perinatal mental health; postnatal depression; postpartum; Postpartum depression; Psychoanalysis; psychoanalytic; Qualitative research
• ISSN: 1742-3341; 1556-9187
• DOI: 10.1002/aps.1687

Our understanding of postnatal depression (PND), and in particular the emotional world of mothers who experience this, and the relational processes involved remain today quite limited. Indeed, what has been called “PND,” likely as explored here a catch‐all term for a variety of composite states of mind, seems quite prevalent and likely too has a significant impact on both mother and baby, as well as on the wider figures and systems that are involved. This study used a psychoanalytically informed research method to access material that emerged around women's postnatal depressive experiences. Each of the six participants engaged in three interviews. The main themes that emerged were the following: (a) Starting on a bad note: difficult experiences in birth and breast‐feeding; (b) Support falling away: the absence of mother's support at key times in pregnancy and birth; (c) No space for mother's mind: the absence of space for processing experience in systems around women; and (d) Unwelcome familiar feelings: the contradictory responses evoked in motherhood. These themes are discussed in relation to their significance for our thinking about supports for mothers in the period prior to and following birth. Also discussed here is whether the technology of birth, important in safeguarding baby, may have reduced the space for mother's emotional well‐being in our systems of care.