Postpartum Psychosis Resources | Books, Journalism and Creative Media
Websites
- Postpartum Support International*
- Resources include information, a HelpLine (800-944-4773) and access to various support services. NOTE: PSI is not a crisis hotline. If you are currently experiencing a crisis: Call your physician or your local emergency number (911); Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA; or Call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
- PSI Website Page on Postpartum Psychosis*
- PSI Bookstore*
- PSI PPP Online Support Group*
- PSI List of Intensive Perinatal Psychiatry Programs in the U.S.*
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)*Free consultations to medical providers caring for patients with postpartum psychosis.
- MGH Center for Women’s Health*state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with female reproductive function located at Massachusetts General Hospital.
- MGH Postpartum Psychosis Project* A new national research project on postpartum psychosis.
- MGH Case-based Supervision to Providers Treating Postpartum Psychosis*
- Action on Postpartum Psychosis A U.K. network composed of women who have experienced psychosis or bipolar disorder in relation to childbirth. This site includes many helpful resources.
- Cherished Mom A program offering educational videos about PMADS and delivery of free self-care boxes to new moms.
- HealthUnlocked A U.K. online support network that contains a forum for PPP.
- Melanie’s Battle A website dedicated to postpartum depression and psychosis in honor of Melanie Stokes.
Social Media
- Postpartum Psychosis Activism and Advocacy* By-admission. FB page for advocates/activists to share information and coordinate activities. Teresa Twomey, lead Admin.
- Postpartum Psychosis Forum* By-admission. FB peer-support page for PPP survivors/friends/families. Teresa Twomey* founder and lead Admin.
- Postpartum Psychosis Survivors*
- @Postpartum Help* – Twitter handle of PSI
First Person Accounts
First-Person Accounts
Books
- Burling, Angela D.* “Moving Out of Darkness.” In Motherhood, Mental Illness and Recovery: Stories of Hope, edited by Nikole Benders-Hadi and Mary E. Barber, 127-133. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2014.
- Cho, Catherine. Inferno: A Memoir of Motherhood and Madness. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2020.
- Halvorson, Shirley. Beth: A Story of Postpartum Psychosis. Bloomington: First Books Library, 2004. (A mother’s story of her daughter’s tragic postpartum suicide.)
- Moyer, Jennifer Hentz. A Mother’s Climb Out of Darkness. Amarillo: Praeclarus Press, 2014.
- Tompkins, Angela. Insanity’s Shoes: My Running Trip Through Postpartum Psychosis. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,
- Townsend, Sarah C.* Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis. Chicago: The Lettered Streets Press, 2019.
- Twomey, Teresa M.* with Shoshana Bennett. Understanding Postpartum Psychosis: A Temporary Madness. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2009.
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
- Dembosky, April. “Unthinkable,” Mother Jones, February 2020.
- Nunn, Gary. “I thought the staff were trying to kill me: the illness that can haunt new mothers,”The Guardian, August 2019.
Personal Essay
- Abramson, Lisa. “Giving Birth Landed Me in the Psych Ward,”The New York Times, September 2019.
- LaSusa, Danielle.* “White Noise,“ Literary Mama, September 2017.
- Siegl, Olivia. “I Didn’t Know Motherhood Could Have a Dark Side Until I Saw Demons Trying to Kill My Baby,“ PSI Blog,* June 2019.
Video and Audio Recordings
- Carol Blocker speaking about Postpartum Psychosis, PSI PSA.*
- Motherhood and Mental Illness KQED, Mina Kim interview with Angela Burling,* Diana Barnes,* April Dembosky and Michelle Oberman. February 2020.
- My Postpartum Psychosis Personal Story Produced by Action on Postpartum Psychosis.
- Playing Monopoly with God A nonfiction storytelling performance by Melissa Bangs, January 2018.
- Postpartum Depression and African American Community PSI PSA.*
- Postpartum Psychosis–Katy’s Story Recorded in the U.K., June 2019.
- Postpartum Psychosis Made Me Hallucinate My Dead Mother This Morning (U.K.), November 2016.
- She Wanted To Be The Perfect Mom, Then Landed In A Psychiatric Unit NPR, April Dembosky article and broadcast interview of Lisa Abramson, January 2019.
- Understanding Postpartum Psychosis TEDx Talk by Rachael Watters, March 2019.
- What Is Postpartum Psychosis? TEDx Talk by Teresa Twomey,* August 2013.
Documentary Films
- Not Carol.* A documentary about Carol Coronado and a tragic outcome of psychosis, 2019.
- When the Bough Breaks. A documentary about postpartum depression, narrated and executive produced by Brooke Shields, 2015
Novels
- Gerdes, Sharon.* Back In Six Weeks: A Novel. SKG Press, 2014.
- Goodman, Carol. The Other Mother: A Novel. New York: William Morrow, 2018.
- O’Brien, Maureen. Purgatory Behind the Wire. Booklocker Press, 2007
- Spears, Karen. Mother of Rain. Macon: Mercer University Press, 2013.
Performance Art
- Playing Monopoly with God A nonfiction storytelling performance by Melissa Bangs, January 2018.
Short Story
- Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Eastford: Martino Fine Books, 2018. (First published 1892).
TEDx Talk
- Understanding Postpartum Psychosis TEDx Talk by Rachael Watters, March 2019.
- What Is Postpartum Psychosis? TEDx Talk by Teresa Twomey,* August 2013.
On Postpartum Psychosis
- Marland, Hilary. Dangerous Motherhood: Insanity and Childbirth in Victorian Britain. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
- Twomey, Teresa M.* and Gina Wong. “Postpartum Psychosis: A Mother of Madness” chapter in Moms Gone Mad: Motherhood and Madness, Oppression and Resistance. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2012
- Twomey, Teresa M.* with Shoshana Bennett. Understanding Postpartum Psychosis: A Temporary Madness. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2009.
Essays
- Twomey, Teresa.* On The Big Bad Wolf of Postpartum Mood Disorders, Postpartum Progress Blog, May 9, 2010.
Journal Articles
- Spinelli, Margaret.* Postpartum psychosis: a diagnosis for the DSMV. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021 Sep 8.
On Postpartum Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Including Psychosis
Books
- Barnes, Diana Lynn,* Women’s Reproductive Health Across the Lifespan. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2014.
- Bennett, Shosana S. and Pec Indman. Beyond the Blues: A Guide to Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postnatal Depression & Anxiety. Untreed Reads Publishing, 5th ed., 2019
- Bennett, Shoshana S. Postpartum Depression for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2007.
- Dix, Carol. The New Mother Syndrome: Coping with Postpartum Stress and Depression. New York: Doubleday, 1985.
- Dunnewold, Ann L. Evaluation and Treatment of Postpartum Emotional Disorders. Sarasota, Florida: Professional Resource Press, 1997.
- Poulin, Sandra. The Mother-to-Mother Postpartum Depression Support Book. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2006.
- Quatraro, Rosa Maria and Pietro Grussu. Handbook of Perinatal Clinical Psychology. Routledge, 2020
- Sichel, Deborah and Jeanne Watson Driscoll. Women’s Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, the Brain, and Emotional Health. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1999.
On Infanticide and Filicide
Books
- Burling, Angela D.* “Moving Out of Darkness.” In Motherhood, Mental Illness and Recovery: Stories of Hope, edited by Nikole Benders-Hadi and Mary E. Barber, 127-133. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2014.
- Goc, Nicola. Women, Infanticide and the Press 1822-1922: News Narratives in England and Austrailia. New York: Routledge, 2016.
- Meyer, Cheryl L. and Michelle Oberman. Mothers Who Kill Their Children. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
- Spencer, Suzy. Breaking Point. New York: Diversion Books, 2002, 2015.
- Spinelli, Margaret.* Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2003.
- Wong, Gina and George Parnham, eds. Infanticide and Filicide: Foundations in Maternal Mental Health Forensics. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2021.
Film
- Not Carol.* A documentary about Carol Coronado and a tragic outcome of psychosis, 2019.
Journal Articles
- Barnes, Diana Lynn.* Towards a new understanding of pregnancy denial: the misunderstood dissociative disorder. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021 Aug 15. doi: 10.1007/s00737-021-01176-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34392438.
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
- Dembosky, April. “Unthinkable,“ Mother Jones, February 2020.
- Sweeney, Annie. Prosecutors and judge agree that after 20 years in prison, mother deserves mercy and a new shot at life. The Chicago Tribune, March 2021.
Video and Audio Recordings
- She Killed Her Children. Can We Forgive Her? KQED, April Dembosky article and broadcast on Carol Coronado’s story.
On Legal and Legislative Issues
Books
- Feingold, Susan* and Barry Lewis. Advocating for Women with Postpartum Illness: A Guide to Changing the Law and the National Climate. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, 2020.
- Meyer, Cheryl L. and Michelle Oberman. Mothers Who Kill Their Children. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
- Spinelli, Margaret.* Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2003.
- Twomey, Teresa M.* with Shoshana Bennett. Understanding Postpartum Psychosis: A Temporary Madness. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2009.
- Wong, Gina and George Parnham, eds. Infanticide and Filicide: Foundations in Maternal Mental Health Forensics. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2021.
On Medication and Breastfeeding
Resources for Medications in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
- MotherToBaby (866) 626-6847. Confidential, and no-cost information about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding by phone, text, email and chat.
- InfantRisk Center (806) 352-2519. A free call center at the Texas Tech University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics serving parents or providers with questions about medications and breastfeeding.
- Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)* Website providing resources and information. On-site evaluation and treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with female reproductive function.
- MGH Case-based Supervision to Providers Treating Postpartum Psychosis* Free consultations to medical providers caring for patients with postpartum psychosis.
- Reprotox An information system developed by the Reproductive Toxicology Center. Contains summaries on the effects of medications, chemicals, infections, and physical agents on pregnancy, reproduction, and development.
- Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) Drugs and lactation database. Contains information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed.
- E-Lactancia A free online source in Spanish and English for information about the compatibility of medications with breastfeeding.
Books
- Bennett, Shoshana. Pregnant on Prozac: The Essential Guide to Making the Best Decision for You and Your Baby. Gilford: Globe Pequot, 2009.
- Hale, Thomas W. Hale’s Medications & Mother’s Milk 2021: A Manual of Lactational Pharmacology–An Essential Reference Manual on the Transmission of Medicine into Breast Milk. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2021.
On Parental Leave
On Women and Mental Illness
Books
- Chesler, Phyllis. Women and Madness. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005. (First published 1970.)
- Wong, Gina, ed. Moms Gone Mad: Motherhood and Madness, Oppression and Resistance. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2012
Practitioner and Researcher-Oriented
Books
- Cox, Elizabeth. Women’s Mood Disorders: A Clinician’s Guide to Perinatal Psychiatry. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2021.
- Hale, Thomas W. Hale’s Medications & Mother’s Milk 2021: A Manual of Lactational Pharmacology–An Essential Reference Manual on the Transmission of Medicine into Breast Milk. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2021.
- Hamilton, James Alexander and Patricia Neel Harberger, eds. Postpartum Psychiatric Illness: A Picture Puzzle. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
- Robinson, Gail Erlick, Carol C. Nadelson and Gisele Apter, eds. Postpartum Mental Health Disorders: A Casebook by Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Committee on Gender and Mental Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Resources with * denote members of PSI’s PPP Taskforce.
Thank you to the PSI Postpartum Psychosis Taskforce for curating this list