Posted on 06/19/2005 12:25:50 AM PDT by freedom44
At the time, we now learn in her new best-seller, Down Came the Rain, Shields was clawing her way out of a bout of postpartum depression that at one point made her suicidal. Shields—who was as vulnerable to the cult of motherhood as anyone—gets credit for confessing that she neither loved nor desired her new baby and for taking a little air out of the image of rapturous new motherhood. If only she didn't feel compelled to write herself a post postpartum Hollywood ending.
"I had always imagined that birth would be the closest thing to grace I'd ever experience," Shields writes with an earnestness that pervades the book. But graceful it was not. Following seven rounds of in vitro fertilization, she underwent 24 hours of labor followed by a grisly emergency C-section. Out came baby Rowan. She is beautiful, healthy—and, to Shields' shock, not what she wants. Shields pads around her Manhattan apartment feeling fat, miserable, and whiny and longing to escape into long hot showers while someone else—anyone else—tends to the baby. She can't bear the smell of baby powder. She doesn't seem to like her daughter. "I wasn't afraid she was too fragile," she writes. "I just felt no desire to pick her up." At her lowest moment, Shields considers driving her car into a wall. She also imagines her daughter "flying through the air and hitting the wall in front of me … the wall morphed into a video game, and in it her little body smacked the surface and slid down onto the floor."
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.msn.com ...
I can't imagine who wouldn't want to read a book about the latest twists and turns of Brooke Shield's mental state.
Aw, gee, while I wait for the link to load to read the rest of why the poor baby didn't immediately fall down and worship Brooke, let us all get a clue?
When you have a baby, it is no longer about you, but about them. This does come as a shock to some women, unfortunately for their babies.
Brooke Shields sounds like a feminine hygiene product.
I like that liberals can't reproduce well. That's a very good thing.
"Thanks, mom."
Booo Freakin' Whoo!
Poor little starlet, turned star, turned Mom didn't quite understand that her priviledged, look-at-me life doesn't extend beyond the birth of a child.
It always astounds me to see people that fail to understand that our WHOLE purpose on this Earth is to procreate and rear the next generation. EVERYTHING we do is supposed to be with that highest goal of life in mind.
It makes me sick when I see these Hollyweird types acting like a child is some sort of rung on the celebrity ladder.
Grrrrr!
Hey Steve - who is the shields broad yer talkin' about? Is she important?
Stay well, pal...............FRegards
Cleel writes: Poor little starlet, turned star, turned Mom didn't quite understand that her priviledged, look-at-me life doesn't extend beyond the birth of a child
Have either of you given birth? Did you experience problems afterward? Many of us do. I was very anxious following the birth of my first son. I took very good care of him because that is what adults do with babies, but I had no feelings for him one way or another for months.
It is largely because women have shared their experiences with post-partum depression that I was able to deal with it in a healthy way. I was able to reassure myself that my feelings were normal, probably the result of hormones, and that I needed to make an effort to relax when feeling panicky and get outside in the sunshine and take a walk. I knew to stay in touch with my family (all long distance), lean on my husband and be aware of whether or not I was feeling better as time passed.
It's a shame you see this as self indulgent whining. I'm glad she's talking. It might help someone else.
Please see post 10. (for some reason I couldn't add your name to the "to" box directly. Sorry!)
I remember reading somewhere that what we call post-partum depression might have actually been the norm in early humans. Mothers were naturally disinclined to get emotionally attached to children for their first few months of life because there was such a high chance the baby would die. That began to dissipate as infant mortality declined, at least according to that article.
Someday Rowan will get old enough to read this crap. Then she'll really have a reason to be depressed.
Thanks for stating such. There are many women I've met (some in my own family) that have suffered a non-emotionally charged relationship with their children at times. It can be especially hard on a mother if she has a "needy" child demanding more attention.
A priest reminded me this weekend that we all have a cross to bear. I pray such passion paves the road to calvary and ultimate Glory, but mostly I should pray for the strength to support this Faith. I don't know, nor will I ever know such a burden as being a mother; but, I hope one day to love as such.
It took Betty Ford's revelation about her alcoholism to wake the public up to the fact that the rich and famous can be drunks and need help. Maybe Brooke Shields' account of her postpartum depression will educate people to its very real horrors. Those sad cases where mothers kill their children and then dial 911 are incomprehensible to most. The legal system treats them like any other killer, which is wrong. They're crazy due to chemical/hormonal imbalance, and the legal system should come to some sensible way to handle this.
As a sidebar, if men suffered postpartum depression and horrible menstrual cramps that can and sometimes do equal the pain of a heart attack, a cure would have been found a long time ago as well as legal ramifications dealt with sensibly.
My mother's family had to hide all the knives in the house after she gave birth to her first child. This condition is more widespread than you'd believe, and it's likely that many tragedies have been averted by families and loved ones who recognized what was going on and took action. Nobody talks about it because it's shameful. (Like most mental problems.) God. If postpartum depression evinced itself as blisters or a broken leg, people wouldn't be so humiliated and frightened. (If you can actually see an injury, then it's real.)
More likely, someday if Rowan has a child herself and goes through this as many women do, it will help her to understand that she's not alone and can get help for it.
I never thought she was much to look at.
~ You aren't kidding ~
Excellent post, Dianna.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.