In our infant mental health service we find depression among vulnerable mothers to be so common that we are in danger of taking it for granted.
When we go into the pressures that all these mothers are under, and the trauma that is an aspect of their past, then this is small wonder. If I was in their shoes not only would I feel depressed, but I would be coping less well. However, only because it is not something taken for granted in my background, the difference would be that I would resist taking prescribed anti-depressants.
There is an acceptance that pills are the answer, and we have to ask where this comes from. Well, for a start it means the 'problem' can be located within the individual and so avoids trying to understand the hard grind, hopelessness and victimisation so many suffer. Heaven forbid that another reason might be the drug companies that target both those that write the prescriptions and those who cash them in.
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