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Toward A Culture Of Healing: Why Alternative Therapies And A Feminist Framework Are Needed In The Care Of Pregnant Women And Treatment Of Postpartum Mood Disorders, Angela Leonardo

Anthós

Pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood are areas of human development that have systematically migrated away from their roots as a series of natural life events to a highly, and perhaps unnecessarily, medicalized arena. This shift has been detrimental for women, especially for poor, socially isolated, single, and/or ethnic minority women. In this paper, I outline my concerns with the increased medicalization of birth and postpartum care, as well as with the status of mothers in the United States, and critically examine the patriarchal context in which this shift has occurred. My focus is on maternal health and mortality, including depression …