Educational Media Reviews Online

This program on postpartum depression originally aired on December 4, 2001 as part of the CBC’s (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) “Disclosure” series (see their Web site). It profiles four young women who suffer from this form of depression. Each one describes her symptoms and feelings to create a very personal portrait of the inner turmoil they face daily.

The wide range of postpartum depression, from the fleeting “baby blues” to the more extreme postpartum psychosis, where women often have thoughts of killing themselves or their children, are mentioned. The program ends on a positive note with the fact that treatment is almost always effective, and three of the women describe different methods that worked for them, from group therapy to medication to electroconvulsive therapy treatments.

Postpartum Depression was obviously designed as a public service spot and succeeds nicely in that role, urging women who may have symptoms to seek help. At 12 minutes in length, this program doesn’t provide the kind of detail most upper level college and university classes would require, but does fill the role of discussion starter. It will be most useful for academic health sciences library collections needing additional material, or in a public library consumer health collection.