The American Sociological Association recently released a paper: “Nature and Culture: Lay Accounts of Perinatal Mental Health Disorders.” In it, Carrie Wendel-Hummell, a University of Kansas doctoral candidate in sociology, reports that it is not just hormones playing a role, but societal factors. She presented her study on perinatal mental health disorders at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

For more, see this article adapted by Medical News Today from the original press release.

My two cents?

I majored in both psychology and sociology in college, and tend to look at a person in the context of their world, so this resonates with my view. I love that she mentioned the pressures on not just moms but dads as well. Also discussed are the various pressures on both working class and middle class families. There is an utter lack of resources for lower income families in America. And middle and upper income parents often have unrealistic expectations of becoming super moms and dads.

What can we do?

Work with our legislators to create maternity leave and paternity leave. Why should the USA be so far behind the rest of the developed world?

Citation:

American Sociological Association. (2014, August 20). “Mental health conditions in new moms and dads can be spurred by ‘super-parent’ cultural pressures.”