Assignment
When the Bough Breaks: A Documentary About Postpartum Depression
When the Bough Breaks is a 90-minute documentary released in 2017 which explores postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. It can be accessed for free on “Tubi” (download the Tubi app), or purchased through YouTube and Google Play.
Please note: Students are expected to complete their own notes and submit individual/original work.
Instructions: Watch the documentary. Create a Word document which includes a summary of the film, as well as your thoughts, reactions, and feelings about the documentary (recommended length: 2-3 pages). Incorporate the following specific topics into your summary:
- Epidemiology: Prevalence of mood or anxiety disorders; percentage of women with “baby blues” that will go on to develop some type of depression/anxiety after giving birth; percentage of women that will develop postpartum depression with obsessive-compulsive behaviors or thoughts; number of women that will have postpartum psychosis
- Defining terms: Difference between “baby blues” and postpartum depression (PPD); things a woman might feel if she were suffering from PPD; risk factors for PPD; difference between postpartum psychosis and other types of postpartum depression with anxiety or obsessive compulsive features
- Mothers in the film: Comment on some of the feelings the mothers in the film had about their illness; their feelings about breastfeeding and coming home from the hospital
- To prosecute or not: Consider the women in the film who were prosecuted for infanticide. What is the United Kingdom’s Infanticide Act of 1938.? What is your opinion about this?
- Impact: What effect did the documentary have on you? Was there anything in particular that struck you? Did any one person’s story impact you in a special way? Share your thoughts.
Website Review
Visit the Postpartum Support International (PSI) website: https://www.postpartum.net/ Explore the website for a few minutes.
- Click on the “About” tab to view the PSI Mission and Vision. Copy and paste it into your document.
- Click on the “Learn More” tab on the top. Choose one topic and summarize the information presented.
- Click on the “Resources” tab. Review the “PSI Educational Brochure”. Provide an evaluation of the brochure. Is this something that you would provide to parents? Why or why not?
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whentheboughbreaks