Unhappy Mothers : Women, Motherhood, and Social Change in Postwar Britain / Sarah Crook.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crook, Sarah, author.

Series:

Social histories of medicine.

Social histories of medicine

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motherhood--Psychological aspects.

Motherhood.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 267 pages).

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2025.

Summary:

In the decades following the Second World War, mothers' experiences of loneliness, boredom and unhappiness were increasingly widely acknowledged. The language of postnatal depression came to be attached to this, but mothers organised around their own discontent in ways that challenged the medical model. Unhappy mothers draws attention to the social, political, and professional contexts within which knowledge about unhappy mothering developed. Drawing upon an extensive range of archival material, the book addresses themes around expertise, feminism, and the value given to lived experience.

Contents:

Introduction

1. Mothers, general practitioners, and the NHS

2. Health visitors and the worlds of new mothers

3. Expertise and experience: mothers' self-help

4. The Women's Liberation Movement and mothers' discontent

5. Feminist sociology, research, and visibility

Conclusion.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-5261-4013-6