It was only a few weeks ago that I got to the last couple of episodes of one of my favorite Netflix shows, Nashville. I honestly can’t get enough of that show- the drama, the music, I just looove it. My musician husband can’t stand it, but I KNOW there are tons of fans out there.
So, there I was munching on popcorn and binge watching the show when I suddenly stop and realize the arc the show is about to take with one of the main characters, Juliette Barnes. She’s just had a baby and she’s been acting strange. Distant, angry, detached, and not like how we picture a new mother should be. I instantly feel excited and nervous about how this is all going to go, and soon enough the other characters are whispering…postpartum depression.
For the amount of drama on TV we currently see including dead bodies, sex scandals, murders, political corruption, and so on, we’ve almost never seen a mother deal with postpartum depression.
Why is this? Why all the secrecy? Some recent studies show that upwards of 15% of women will deal with PPD during their childbearing years. That’s a whole lot of mothers. Hell, I’ve even been there before, and so have people I know, but almost none of us felt able to admit it or find help because it really isn’t talked about so much.
Yesterday the actress playing Juliette, Hayden Panettiere (who I’m sure you’d recognize from many different shows or movies), checked herself into a treatment center to deal with her own personal issues with postpartum depression. Hayden had spoken openly about her feelings on this subject just recently:
“I can very much relate. It’s something a lot of women experience. When [you’re told] about postpartum depression you think it’s ‘I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child.’ I’ve never, ever had those feelings,” Panettiere, 26, said during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael last month. “Some women do. But you don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.”
I know I’m not alone when I say how impressed I am with both Hayden and the writers of Nashville for facing this topic head on. I’ve said it before- what a celebrity does matters and will affect how we mother our children as well. Having someone in the spotlight to talk about these issues and be open about their experience will only bring more awareness to the issue of postpartum depression.
There are so many things that are normal, but not amazing, about being a mom.
Everyone is allowed to have moments where they aren’t having their best day and where they just can’t wait for bedtime and a glass of wine. But, things can definitely veer off into a more serious place and with this issue being not so taboo I think more women will get the help they need.
Can you relate to this? Does Nashville’s storyline or Hayden’s decision to seek treatment make you feel more hopeful for other women experiencing PPD?
