Hidden Feelings of Motherhood

Despite the imagery from the serene, earthy Renaissance Madonna to Madonna Ciccone motherhood is not always the blissful idyll that our culture would have us believe. New mothers often feel overwhelmed and frustrated, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for no pay and little respect. Depression is so common in mothers of infants that the American Psychological Association considers young motherhood a risk factor for depression. University of New Hampshire psychologist and postpartum depression expert Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett helps mothers explore negative feelings and cope with them in The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood: Coping with Stress, Depression and Burnout. Kendall-Tackett, who works with breastfeeding mothers, discusses anger, powerlessness, feeling trapped and the loss of intimacy with a partner. Many new mothers will welcome this empathetic, informed and constructive book. Foreword by Phyllis Klaus and Marshall H. Klaus, authors of Your Amazing Newborns. ( Aug. 15)