Singing "the baby blues": a content analysis of popular press articles about postpartum affective disturbances

A content analysis was conducted to evaluate the description of postpartum mood disturbances in magazine articles that appeared during the years 1980-1998. Nineteen articles about postpartum depression and eight articles about "the baby blues" were identified and analyzed for their discussion of etiologies, symptoms, treatments, resources, and demographic assumptions about their readers. The results indicate a strong bias in favor of the medical model of postpartum affective disorders. The articles contained contradictory information about the definition, prevalence, onset, duration, symptoms, and treatment of postpartum disorders, and the authors generally assumed that their readers were heterosexual, married, and middle class. Although the purpose of the articles was to educate readers about an important topic in women's health, they failed to provide accurate information, and thus are not a sufficient resource for new mothers who are seeking to learn about psychosocial aspects of the postpartum period.