New
moms are supposed to be joy made flesh,
yet motherhood and
I met like a brick meets water.
--from Hillbilly
Gothic
During the past century the risks associated with pregnancy
and childbirth have diminished significantly. Precautions as
simple as hand-washing and developments as advanced as fetal
monitoring have reduced infant
mortality and assured maternal
survival. The "blessed event" is no longer the peril
it was to a woman's health and a family's well-being. But until
recently one common difficulty has been denied, overlooked
or misunderstood: after the birth of a child the new mother
might sink into depression, or worse.
It's estimated that about fifteen percent of women will suffer from serious mood
disorder or mental illness after giving birth. Postpartum
depression may be as
mild as a case of the "baby
blues" or it could turn into a full-blown
psychosis, endangering both mother and child. A study conducted over thirty years
in Denmark revealed common patterns of mental illness in women after childbirth.
It may be due to hormonal
changes during pregnancy, and in cases like Adrienne
Martini's there may be a genetic factor. She tells about this with personal detail
and startling wit in her new book "Hillbilly
Gothic: A Memoir of Madness
and Motherhood."
Ms. Martini now lives in Oneonta, but she grew up in Pittsburgh. She did not
have a close relationship with her mother, a West Virginian who suffered from
depression. Her parents were estranged and Adrienne felt more warmly toward her
father. She attended Allegheny College and was married and living in Knoxville,
Tennessee when her daughter Madeleine was born.
The pregnancy was not a comfortable
time. The delivery with the assistance of a doula - a professional who cares
for non-medical needs - was complicated. And "after the birth life got blurry." Adrienne
checked in to the psychiatric ward of a Knoxville hospital with a sense of imprisonment,
fearful of the other "crazy" people. And yet, she notes, "while
I did not believe it at the time, Tower 4 was exactly where I needed to be."
The psychiatric intervention
is successful, Adrienne returns home and can finally be mother to baby Maddy.
But, she writes,
Part of the problem is that I'm not really sure if I love
you yet. I love the idea of you and the you you will
become, but right now you're
just a crying,
pooping ball of need that threw my life out of control... The whole
pregnancy and birth thing is by far the hardest thing I've
done. Usually hard projects
bring great rewards. But right now, there hasn't been a great payoff,
which makes it hard sometimes to solider on.
Ms. Martini and
her husband are now parents of two children (the birth of
her son happened without the earlier complications). She
is teaching at both SUNY-Oneonta
and Hartwick College.
Adrienne Martini joins WSKG's Bill Jaker on OFF THE PAGE to discuss
her memoir and the harrowing but ultimately happy experience of motherhood.
To join in
the conversation call (toll-free) during the 1pm live broadcast to
888/359-9754 or post your
comments or questions to WSKG.Radio@Gmail.com.
 In
1778 the upper Susquehanna was the western boundary of
settlement for the emerging American nation. Ray Ward sets
out the relationship
between the native tribes and persons of European background,
and the military conflict that was this region's part of
the American Revolution, in his new historical novel "March
Into the Endless Mountains". Col. Ward is from Waverly,
NY and visits OFF THE PAGE on Tuesday, December 26 to
speak about researching and preserving those pivotal events.
OFF THE PAGE archives
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