In 1951, after giving birth to her first child, my grandmother developed postpartum depression. She was diagnosed as having a “nervous condition”. Her treatment took the form of electroshock therapy. She was twenty years old at the time. Separated from her family she was sent to a mental hospital in St. Thomas, many miles away from her home. In the meantime, my grandfather was left to watch over his newborn daughter. He moved back in with his parents, and did what he could to take care of the baby, while also holding down a full-time job. Each and every weekend he made the four hour drive to visit his wife in the mental hospital.
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| My grandparents circa 1949. |
Finally, after almost a year my grandmother was pronounced cured and was released to return to her family. She went on to have two further children without incident. Everything seemed to be going fine until she reached menopause. The hormonal changes combined with the damage that had been done to her brain during the electroshock therapy worked together to cause her to have a second nervous breakdown. She began seeing a psychiatrist and was to be on psychiatric drugs for the rest of her life.
I didn’t learn this story all at once, but in bits and pieces as I grew older. I knew, from when I was a teenager on, that my grandmother had some mental health problems. Sometimes she forgot or refused to take her medication and suffered bouts of paranoia. The sort that would have her demanding that she needed to change all the locks in the house because the neighbours were sneaking in and stealing her Harlequin romance novels.
Then at the age of 80, my grandmother had a mild stroke. It was such a mild stroke it slipped by unnoticed, but what it did do was again change the chemical balance in her brain so that the dosages for her medication were now off. She slipped into bizarre and paranoid behaviour. It took months for us to figure out what was actually going wrong. Once they realised she’d had a stroke and adjusted her medication, she was in a much more balanced state. Again the doctors mentioned that this was likely a side effect of her earlier treatments. The after effects of her postpartum depression, in particular, the after effects of the electroshock therapy, were to remain with my grandmother for her entire life.
It is a sad story, but unfortunately not an uncommon one. I originally thought that my grandmother must have been a very extreme case in order to have been treated as she was. I thought perhaps she had suffered from postpartum psychosis, a far rarer and more intense version of postpartum depression. I started reading up on it, and I was shocked to discover that my grandmother was far from alone. Though not always separated from their families for such long periods of time, many women during the 40s, 50s and 60s received electroshock therapy to help treat “nervous conditions”, a catch-all phrase used to cover everything from postpartum depression to mild psychosis. It was a very common treatment choice for the time.
I was aware of electroshock therapy but thought it was something they stopped using at the turn of the century. After a bit of research, I discovered that it actually wasn’t introduced until 1938. The doctors who developed the treatment were even nominated for a Nobel prize.
I was surprised and disgusted to find out that it was the popular treatment of choice in the 1950s. I was even further surprised to discover that electroshock therapy is still in use today. A CBC news article from 2008 opens with the line, “Despite protests calling for a ban on the treatment, electroshock therapy is frequently used by Canadian psychiatrists to treat severe depression.”
Though apparently, it’s a bit different then the treatment my grandmother would have received in 1950. Now a days they sedate the patient and give them a muscle relaxant, so it’s a slightly more humane experience – though overall the effect upon your brain remains the same. There are some differences between pioneer and modern electroshock therapy that I don’t claim to understand, such as the change over from unilateral sinusoidal current to constant current brief pulse. Unilateral was used by some doctors in the 1940s and early 1950s, and I don’t know if my grandmother received unilateral or constant current electroshock therapy.
But the purpose of this article isn’t to bash electroshock therapy. It’s to highlight the differences in how postpartum depression is treated today vs. how it was treated in my grandmother’s time. In the 1950s there was no acknowledgement of postpartum depression as a valid medical condition. A woman, like my grandmother, who had a bout of postpartum depression was described as having a “nervous condition” or “bad nerves”. All of this was hushed up and never really spoken of.
I have my grandmother’s copy of Every Woman’s Standard Medical Guide from 1948. The chapter on pregnancy and birth, which covers up to six weeks post-birth, makes absolutely no mention of postpartum depression, or any of the normal feelings or anxieties you may experience post-birth. There are however two entire chapters dedicated to “Nervous Tension” in women. When going into reasons that women develop “bad nerves” it mentions that “Arrival of a new baby may be a signal for the beginning of nervous tension in the sensitive, anxious woman.” Far from reassuring, it places the blame back on the woman for being too sensitive or anxious.
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| This was the closest my grandmother’s medical book came to hinting at the existence of postpartum depression. |
When my mother gave birth to me in 1975 and later my baby brother who was born in 1978, no one spoke to her about postpartum depression. No one explained to her that it was normal, something that one in four women experiences. She described to me her feelings after my little brother was born, “I knew something was wrong with me, but I had no clue what it was.”
By the time my mother gave birth to my sister in 1983, there had been a change in the medical scene. This time she was provided with information on postpartum depression by her family doctor and the hospital. It was at this point that she had the ah-ha moment and realised what she had been going through back in 1978 was perfectly normal.
Today, and I am speaking from my personal experiences after having gone through two pregnancies, today we are bombarded with info about postpartum depression. I was handed pamphlets throughout each stage of my pregnancy. There were posters hung on the wall in the O.B. and midwife’s office. Every pregnancy or baby book you pick up has a chapter devoted to the topic. I’m not sure if this is the same across Canada, but here in Windsor, after being released from the hospital the local health nurse calls, and even visits your house, to check in with you and see how you are doing. Every post-birth appointment I had with a doctor or midwife they would gingerly ask, “How are you feeling?” and I would have to reassure them that I was fine. I was lucky in that I never went through postpartum depression personally. I will freely admit my hormones were out of whack after giving birth, and I remember having crying bouts within the first few days after having each babe, but nothing serious and sustained. It was actually a bit overwhelming to have people constantly checking on you, and sort of expecting you to snap.
But then compare it to the alternative, where no one talks about postpartum depression, or is willing to admit that it is a real and serious condition. I think we as women are lucky to live in a time when postpartum depression is recognised as a valid medical condition, and we are also lucky that electroshock therapy is no longer considered the treatment of choice. Now a days postpartum depression is treated through a variety of methods, including psychotherapy, support groups, and medication.
But when did the change over in public perception occur? I don’t believe there was one defining moment when the public perception shifted, I think it was a gradual shift over time. From what I’ve read, starting in the 1970s, amid renewed scientific interest in mental illnesses in general, postpartum depression began to gain new recognition. Though even then, most women struggled with the illness on their own.
I decided to write about this, and share my mother and my grandmother’s personal stories with you, because I think it is important to know just how lucky we are with the way things are right now, with the fact that postpartum depression is a widely recognized medical condition, and one that is treated humanely. I also think it is terribly important to not let it slip from the public mind. It needs to keep being talked about. The support needs to be there for the women who are suffering, for the women who are pregnant and need to know what they may be coming into. Even the mild depression and wacky hormonal stage that I went through after childbirth, or the Baby Blues as it’s usually termed, could be terrifying if you didn’t know it was a normal phase of your body adjusting post-birth.
I don’t want the story of what my grandmother went through, what many women of her time went through, to be lost. In twenty-some years time when my daughters are becoming mothers, I want them to receive the same, or better, level of care and support that we are seeing today. I don’t ever want postpartum depression and its discussion, it’s acknowledgement, to slip into a dark and secret place again.
The following definitions and stats are taken from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Family Centered Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guide Lines
Postpartum blues, or baby blues, are experienced by 45 to 80 percent of postpartum women. Common symptoms are insomnia, sadness, mood changes, tearfulness, fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, and confusion. These symptoms are usually transient: beginning on the third or fourth day after birth, they last one to two weeks and then disappear without treatment.
Ten to twenty percent of women experience postpartum depression during the first year after birth. Usually, it begins within two weeks to six months of birth. Although a form of clinical depression, it is not psychotic in nature. Common symptoms are periods of excessive crying, feelings of despondency and guilt, emotional lability, anorexia, insomnia, feelings of inadequacy, poor self-esteem, inability to cope, social withdrawal, and concern about “not loving the baby.” The many physical symptoms include impaired concentration, irritability, poor memory, and fatigue.
I was selected as one of the Summer 2011 recipients for Mom Central Canada Blogger Grant, and received compensation for the above post. Mom Central Canada’s Blogger Grant Program provides financial aid to Canadian bloggers in the Mom Central Canada network who have a compelling story to tell and who want to help make the lives of busy moms and their families better.
Oh wow! What an incredible story – on many, many levels!
I actually got shivers and tears throughout reading this.
Thanks so much for sharing this – it's so important for us to talk about these things, to bring them out in the open so that people can be educated (and be thankful for how things have progressed for sure!)
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Wow! I had no idea that so many women had this happen to them. Having four kids myself I know all too well about depression and postpartum. I wish I knew more about my grandmothers as young women, sadly they are no longer with us.
Thank you for sharing this story with us.
Great information to share, thank you. Nervous Tension – I remember my Gramma being told she had this when she had her sons as well. We are lucky to be living in the time we are where at least some "conditions" aren't whispered about behind closed doors.
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oh my gosh Deanna, this is an amazing story. I had no idea women were treated this way! so extreme! it's so great of you to share your grandma's story and give her a voice she didn't have back then! thank you!
I'm positive my grandmother suffered from post-partum depression it even psychosis after the "stillbirth" of her first baby. I say "stillbirth" because an accident with forceps took his life as he was born. My grandmother was told to forget about her lost child entirely, but even when advanced Alzheimer's struck her she still begged my grandfather to put a grave stone over her lost baby's tiny grave with tears and anger. As a young mother to her 3 children I get the impression that she wasn't able to form attachment to them easily and remained in the dark of depression for many years. If someone had stepped up and helped who knows how much better her life would have been.
Amazing story thank you so much for sharing!
Interesting account of how far we've come! I recently learned that electro therapy was still being used and I too was shocked! It seems so archaic!
As a PPD suffere I am extremely thankful for the progress we've made in the mental health world! If we think the knowledge & methods were old school back then, imagine what our future generations will think of us. It's exciting to think that even greater advances are to come!
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Wow! Thank you for sharing, Deanna! What an amazing story. It's incredible how much times have changed and how much different (and not so different) life is compared to our grandmothers' and our mothers' lives.
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Your post inspired me to write about my thoughts on PPD, my personal struggles, and treatment now and then: http://parentingpatch.com/a-story-of-postpartum-d… (I included a link to your post in mine.)
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Thank you for sharing this story. I remember hearing how my grandmother was hospitalized after my mom for bleeding for years… After some time I heard that she stayed longer due to nerves. My grandfather took care of my mom who had some minor health issues adding more stress. After my GM passed my uncle went through her belongings and found a copy of a baby "manual" called you and your contented baby. My grandpa took notes while my grandma was in the hospital. At one point he spoke about her "treatments". Having a 6 mo old myself and feeling a little blue- nothing serious- I am so sad that my GM never shared this story. I can't imagine being hospitalized and going through that. Thank you again for sharing. Amazing what these women did in silence.
Great post. I love reading about the history of women. This is a topic I hadn't thought of before. Thanks for bringing attention to this subject.
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Thank you for sharing this story. I can`t imagine going through all that. I had postpartum depression after having my second child and it is a scary enough feeling on it`s own. Let alone been taken from your family and hospitalized.
Wow, I wasn't aware that this happened. That was about the time that my mother had her children (in the 1950's); thankfully she wasn't treated in this way (I guess she didn't suffer postpartum). Still it's unbelievable that this could happen and that your grandmother was hospitalized for a year and didn't get to see some of her daughter's firsts.
Thank you for sharing 🙂 ” target=”_blank”>http://www.bipolarbabe.com – 'stomping out stigma of mental health'. Thank goodness we are able to access more information.
All I can say is… WOW. Hard to believe this was the way things were just a few decades ago. Reminds me of some of the stuff I've seen while watching the BBC show Call the Midwife. So much has changed for the better – that's such a relief. I am so glad that moms now have so much more support. Better to have too much than nothing, because there are women out there who really need it. Thank you so much for sharing.
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Hi – I absolutely LOVE your article. very well done and a remarkable story, thanks!
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September 23-The Mother of one of my early friends was treated with Shock Therapy and put in a Sanitorium. I believe it was probably for PPD as she was having babies at that time. She was allowed to come home at times and I still remember how white she was and I felt so sorry for her.
Thank you for discussing this tale. I can`t think about going through all that. I had postpartum depressive disorders after having my second kid and it is a terrifying enough sensation on it`s own. Let alone been taken from your close relatives members and put in the hospital.
I don’t see my grand mother. So i don’t know the love of of grandmother. Miss her love….Thanks for sharing. I like your writing. To rad your story feeling love for my grandmother.
What a fascinating read. I had no idea!
I'm 60 years old and found at Christmas that my mother was hospitalized after my birth. It was something "everybody" knew but me. My mother has been dead for 25 years. I realize now what I considered eccentric behavior was probably hypomania. Needless to say, I'm still processing the information.
In regards to Electric Shock Therapy: as a registered nurse I assisted with treatments in the late 1990's in a private psychiatric hospital.The treatments were humane and there was a doctor of anesthesia and a medical doctor certified in psychiatry present. Thorazine was not developed until 1955 and it would have been a horrible drug for depression as it is not an antidepressant. For what was known about depression in the 1950's the administration of EST was the only option if it seemed the new mother was not going to "snap out of it". Antidepressants have come a long way and are now more effective for routine depression.
Appreciate it intended for dealing with this particular adventure. My partner and i can`t consider experiencing everything that. I did postpartum depressive disorders immediately after possessing the subsequent kid in fact it is any distressing adequate experience in it`s unique. Not to say been recently taken from your close up loved ones members along with invest the hospital.
Thank you for talking about this story. I can`t think about going through all that. I had postpartum despression symptoms after having my second kid and it is a scary enough feeling on it`s own. Let alone been taken from your near family associates members and put in the medical center.
Oh wow,I cannot believe what they did back them,unbelievable!!
This is a great post. My husband's grandma (age 88 now), was a nurse in a psych ward who administered electroshock therapy during her career (in the US). She described it last year to me by saying, "We never lost anyone, but boy were were always nervous, because you have to stop the heart and bring it back." Yikes! I am still freaked out by that description! I'm pregnant with my third (first baby to be born in Canada), so this article is meaningful for me. So relieved that things are going the other way with natural care options for pregnancy and postpartum.
Thank you for talking about this story. I can`t think about going through all that. I had postpartum despression symptoms after having my second kid and it is a scary enough feeling on it`s own. Let alone been taken from your near family associates members and put in the medical center.
Wow! I had no concept that so many females had this occur to them. Having four children myself I know all too well about depressive disorders and postpartum. I wish I realized more about my grandmas as younger ladies, unfortunately they are not with us.
Thank you for discussing this tale with us.
This is a fantastic publish. My spouse’s grandmother (age 88 now), was a health professional in a psych keep who applied electroshock treatment during her profession (in the US). She described it last season to me by saying, “We never missing anyone, but boy were were always anxious, because you have to quit the center and carry it returning.” Yikes! I am still flipped out by that description! I’m expecting with my third (first child to be created in Canada), so this content is significant for me. So treated that factors are going the other way with organic proper care choices for maternity and postpartum.
Wow! I had no concept that so many females had this occur to them. Having four children myself I know all too well about depressive disorders and postpartum. I wish I realized more about my grandmas as younger ladies, unfortunately they are not with us.
Thank you for discussing this tale with us.
Do not be embarrassed!! Discussing your tale may be healing and you may help someone else!! Composing about my trip through treatment after a PPD and the dysthymic problem analysis was one of the best factors I did!! You are doing what you need to do to create yourself better. No pity in that!! Best of fortune mama!!
Wow! I had no idea that so many women had this happen to them. Having four kids myself I know all too well about despression symptoms and postpartum. I wish I noticed more about my grandmas as young women, unfortunately they are not with us.
Thank you for talking about this story with us.
Wow! I had no concept that so many females had this occur to them. Having four children myself I know all too well about depressive disorders and postpartum. I wish I realized more about my grandmas as younger ladies, unfortunately they are not with us.
Thank you for discussing this tale with us.
Thank you for discussing this tale. I can`t think about going through all that. I had postpartum depressive disorders after having my second kid and it is a terrifying enough sensation on it`s own. Let alone been taken from your close relatives members and put in the hospital.
oh my jeeze Deanna, this is an awesome tale. I had no concept females were handled this way! so extreme! it’s so excellent of you to discuss your grandmothers tale and provides her a speech she did not have returning then! thank you!
During the 19th century when women experienced depression, many did not divulge their symptoms and those who did were often diagnosed as “neurotic." Women who sought help for their symptoms were often subjected to a variety of unusual treatments.
In 700 BC Hippocrates wrote about women experiencing emotional troubles during their postpartum period,however it was not until the 1850s that medical professionals initially recognized postpartum depression as a disorder.During the nineteenth century when women experienced depression,numerous did not disclose their symptoms and the individuals who did were frequently diagnosed as "neurotic."Women who looked for help for their symptoms were regularly subjected to a mixed bag of unusual treatments.
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Wow… thank you for sharing this very personal story. It's heartbreaking what women went through, my heart goes out to your grandmother. I am glad to know our understanding of mental health has improved, but we sure still have a long way to go!
In the year 2020 depression will be the second most important human disease by the World Health Organization as part of its study of mental health. One out of every ten people suffer from depression and once in their lives if depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the world,
I have an anxiety problem as well. I shared this with my pastor and some close Christian friends and I learned that I will NEVER do that again. I’ll just keep it to myself. This article is the prevailing view and it is usually shared by those who have never suffered a panic attack and have little understanding of the physiological processes behind some anxiety.
This is an older post … but I hadn’t read it. So much to learn from our families that we know nothing about. “It’s just the way it was”. A year in the institution? Absolutely incredible story and an example of how we need to continue really looking at people and their individual situations differently – start questioning why things are done the way they are if you don’t think something is right.
Very interesting story. Well written. Thanks for sharing.
I find it so remarkable how crazy people’s thinking was back in the 1950’s. It almost doesn’t seem real hearing some of the stories that you and others have told about this time.
A really good post and very informative, thanks for sharing. I fortunately never suffered myself from baby blues nor postpartum depression, I doubt that I would have trusted myself to have seven had I suffered as many others did and still do.
I vividly remember when one of aunties took in a child around a year old. It was her nephew and her sister-in-law couldn’t cope with postpartum depression and took her own life. Back in those days there wasn’t as much public knowledge nor acceptance of this condition.
Quite the story; wasn’t aware they used electroshock therapy for postpartum depression. Glad there is more info about this today!
This is such an amazing feature that is both heart-breaking on one hand but on the other, also important to all women who suffer with post partum depression. We are so lucky that it is more understood and not so hush hush anymore.My own mom died at a young age and was suffering with post partum depression.It was not the main factor in her illness but I believe it contributed to her death because she gave up and left the hospital before she was well.
I am sorry to hear about your mum. It does make my heart heavy to think of what my grandmother went through, but I also think it’s important to speak up and continue to speak out on postpartum depression as a very real part of childbirth.
Thank you for sharing your Grandmother’s experience. It is a shame that this condition was hushed up and never really spoken of during the decades past. It seems to me even now, the stigma put on mental health issues, is hard to wipe away.
This article helped me in research for my next novel where one of my characters is raising a child alone in 1946 and is suffering undiagnosed and untreated. Thank you again.
I came upon this article while writing my memoirs for my grandchild and family. Your grandmother’s experience mirrors my mothers. I know that her electric shock treatment changed her forever.. I appreciate finding your article. As I look back at my childhood I know that my and my siblings lives were also greatly affected.
This happened to my mother in 1950. She endured 8 months of inhumane shock treatments and insulin coma therapy and was never the same. She had 3 more children and also had a nervous breakdown during menopause. She was very angry about it and felt that she was experimented on. The entire family suffers for sure. My mom suffered at the Hamilton Sanatorium. I still have the billings from her treatments. Thank you for writing this article. Sorry for your family’s pain.
The same happened to my mum …she had depression after having my little sister in 1967…She has electric shock treatment and was never the same again, according to my dad.. When she got to her late forties, I guess the start of the menopause, she went down hill again….it was so sad.. I am the eldest girl and she leant on me a lot…my dad was useless and couldn’t cope, he kept saying “ what are we going to do with her “…She felt so ashamed of herself and looked like a frightened little girl…..then when she was 49 she shot herself in our living room…I was 22….My life stood still …I felt so guilty…I became bulimic and felt so lonely….I eventually found a psychotherapist who slowly helped me. I am now 58, have a beautiful daughter who is 24 and life is pretty good. I feel better about my mum, I can now see her smiling and laughing and I think she would want me to be happy…I will always miss having a mum but it’s been very healing to have a daughter… I am so pleased treatment for depression has moved on and it is not stigmatised anymore.
Like the author, I have pieced together that my mother had electroshock treatment during menopause. Because it was the 1950’s, it was under the shroud of secrecy and the family did not talk about it. Embarrassment pushed out the chance for compassion. I was ten. I’m now 77. I had difficulty at the onset of menopause and, fortunately, anticipated from my piecing together it might be a difficult time. Facing it with a bit of understanding the shame and secrecy was not there.