Paula Doress-Worters, who helped break the silence on postpartum depression, dies at 87

"The doctors didn't say anything that was much more intelligent than what you would read in the women's magazines, like Redbook. They said, 'It's just baby blues, you'll get over it.' With time and medication, she did, returning to the advocacy efforts that had been central to her life for years."

"Ms. Doress-Worters remained haunted by postpartum depression, frustrated by what she called 'a black hole' of information. The subject was treated with condescension, or ignored altogether, by the doctors she consulted and the books she read."

"In 1970, she helped fill the information gap as a co-author of 'Our Bodies, Ourselves,' a groundbreaking health book written for women, by women - specifically, a group of more than a dozen young, married women called the Boston Women's Health Book Collective."

Paula Doress-Worters experienced severe postpartum depression after giving birth in 1966, a condition affecting approximately 1 in 8 women that lacked medical recognition and understanding at the time. Doctors dismissed her symptoms as temporary "baby blues" without meaningful explanation or treatment guidance. Despite hospitalization and medication, she found little useful information about her condition from medical professionals or published sources. Frustrated by this knowledge gap, Doress-Worters channeled her experience into advocacy work. In 1970, she co-authored "Our Bodies, Ourselves," a pioneering health book created by and for women through the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, which helped fill critical information voids about women's health issues including postpartum depression.

Read at The Washington Post