One of my very favorite television shows will be addressing postpartum depression this season as actress Monica Potter, who plays Kristina Braverman on the wonderful NBC television show “Parenthood”, portrays a mom with PPD.
Potter tells the Hollywood Reporter, “I met a woman who was going through severe postpartum depression and I brought it up to [the show’s executive producer Jason Katims] and he let me take it to the place I would take it without being a Debbie Downer.”
Not sure how I feel about that Debbie Downer comment, but moving on…
Potter’s character has been through a lot of stress of late. Her son has Asperger’s Syndrome, and her husband is in the midst of starting a new business. This type of stress and upheaval is definitely a risk factor for postpartum depression in real life. I can only hope that Potter portrays the actual experience of postpartum depression as realistically. Forgive me if I’m not feeling confident about that, though, based on this quote from the Hollywood Reporterinterview:
… Potter notes that Kristina won’t be down for long. “I feel like Kristina is going to go the other way,” she says. “She’s been so supportive of Adam and the family for so long and she just had a baby and now she’s pulling herself up by the bootstraps and saying, ‘I’m still a person, I still have a life beyond being a mother and wife.’ “
FYI y’all, women who have postpartum depression can’t just pull themselves up by the bootstraps, nor do they quickly get better. PPD is a very serious illness, suffered by hundreds of thousands each year in the US alone, and requires professional treatment.
I love it when Hollywood uses postpartum depression as a plot line, because it serves to create much-needed awareness. We need that awareness because only 15% of women with PPD get help, and the negative long-term effects of untreated PPD on both mother and baby are well-documented. I don’t love it when postpartum depression is portrayed inaccurately, though, because it is such a lost opportunity. It’s like taking all of the potential good and turning it on its head. I’m continually fighting against the depiction of us in the media as either murderous mothers or people who have a quick-and-easy case of the blues. The truth is neither of those things. If you make moms with postpartum depression look like murderers, they become too afraid to ask for help. If you make postpartum depression look like a walk in the park, they don’t think they need to ask for it.
I know the show cares about accurate portrayals, given how hard it has worked to give voice to those with Asperger’s, so I’d like to think they’ll take just as much care in representing postpartum depression. Parenthood is a production of Universal Media Studios and Imagine Television. One of its executive producers, along with Jason Katims, is Ron Howard. Howard is the father of Bryce Dallas Howard, who has been wonderfully open and honest about her experience with postpartum depression. Let’s hope Potter and Katims consult with the Howards about what it’s really like to have PPD. They have an opportunity here to do some real good.
I remember when one of my very favorite shows, "Scrubs", portrayed PPD as two nights of Carla crying in her hospital room after having her baby and that was that. Booooo.
I agree, Scrubs could have done more. But it is a comedy and, well, PPD isn't fun. But Scrubs did more than 2 nights of crying – Carla left the baby alone with a young boy in her building because she just had to get out of the house and went shopping. She refused to get help because she and her husband were "The Turks" and they didn't need help. Turk finally ended up having Carla talk to Jordan, who also had PPD. Their frank discussion was one of the best parts because Carla realized she wasn't alone. They also brought up Carla's continued use of an anti-depressant in a later show. This episode aired after my first child was born and I was already receiving help – but I balled like a baby, though. I thought it was a pretty powerful story line.
I agree, Scrubs could have done more. But it is a comedy and, well, PPD isn’t fun. But Scrubs did more than 2 nights of crying – Carla left the baby alone with a young boy in her building because she just had to get out of the house and went shopping. She refused to get help because she and her husband were “The Turks” and they didn’t need help. Turk finally ended up having Carla talk to Jordan, who also had PPD. Their frank discussion was one of the best parts because Carla realized she wasn’t alone. They also brought up Carla’s continued use of an anti-depressant in a later show. This episode aired after my first child was born and I was already receiving help – but I balled like a baby, though. I thought it was a pretty powerful story line.
Oh, I am so glad to hear that they are doing this. To be honest, I follow the show and was kind of hoping for that to happen, to raise awareness.
oh, I so hope it will be done well.
I really hope they portray it well…I would rather it not be portrayed at all then be portrayed unrealistically. I have read about Bryce Dallas Howard's experience, though, and I really hope they use her as a resource in writing it accurately.
"If you make moms with postpartum depression look like murderers, they become too afraid to ask for help. If you make postpartum depression look like a walk in the park, they don’t think they need to ask for it."
EXACTLY. These are the misconceptions we have to dispel.
I've been holding my breath during her scenes, waiting for that "PPMD shoe" to drop. I've really liked Monica Potter's portrayal of Kristina so far – sometimes I love her, sometimes we are ehhh – but I am pretty anxipus about this plot line, even more so after reading her comments above.
I guess the next few shows are already filmed and in the bag, right? So there would be no point in writing to anyone.
Interested to hear more thoughts on this episode! It really resonated with me and made me weepy. I hope they build on it and don't let it fall through the cracks.