Content area
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is defined as an “unspecified depressive disorder” that occurs up to four weeks post-childbirth. This definition, and others, are clinical diagnostic tools that do not consider lay understandings of PPD. Using qualitative analysis of posts on social networking website Reddit, this study argues that postpartum depression is another dimension of medicalized reproduction. Analysis of the data shows that while some posters found postpartum depression a useful category, other posters found this label inadequate in explaining the challenges of the postpartum period. A third group of posters negotiated this classification and utilized intra-community interactions to establish normalcy. Overall, discussions of postpartum depression in online spaces allowed posters to make sense of their experiences and helped them articulate pathways to wellbeing. These findings rethink the postpartum period, and build on literature which suggests that women resist, accept, and, at times, negotiate the medicalization of reproduction.
