Maternal depression has always been positioned as a 'women's' problem with the socio-cultural factors contributing to it usually ignored. Although there are hormonal/physiological factors involved in the occurence of postnatal depression, which occurs soon after the birth of a baby, any mum can feel depressed from the sheer difficulty of being a mum. Balancing paid and unpaid work is very demanding and living on one income or a single parenting pension often imposes economic constraints that have to be dealt with on a daily basis. Involved fathers also face difficulties with work-life balance. We need a society and workplaces that support families with felexible work options. While the growth and sophistication of information technology has made this quite possible in many industries, we still have a long way to go before it is a widely available option for many parents.

Like a lot of opinion pieces these days, this article expresses a view of what's wrong but doesn't offer much about what should be done. I'm wondering whether the author has any practical proposals that would improve things. The last sentence hints at changes in the schools system. I have long believed that schools are still basically structured as nineteenth century institutions and the need for change is profound. Leaving aside the implications of the Internet, the changing work patterns in the C21st suggest to me that formal education should be flexible and rostered by shifts rather than retained in a rigid 8.30 to 3.00 framework. I also wonder what the writer thinks about child care - should child care be expanded and extended?

" that formal education should be flexible and rostered by shifts rather than retained in a rigid 8.30 to 3.00 framework."

A point that I made not so long ago.

There would be some scheduling difficulties for some but it does seem that there should be better options than a vast number of kid's arriving on mass at school at a time that's after the time most parents need to start work or the commute to work, finishing on mass at a time that's before those same parents are likely to be finished work then leaving the schools completely empty for two to three months of the year (with parents mostly getting 4 weeks of annual leave and a bit of long service leave).

Other than the practical issues for parents to manage that there is the traffic chaos around most schools just around start and finish times, crowding issues within the schools and peak demands on common resources.

Also the fun of all kids being on holidays at the same time with pressure on leave requests in workplaces, peak periods on holiday accomodation etc.

There does seem to be some good reasons why more thought could be given to doing school hours and terms differently. That would not fix all the pressures on parents trying to juggle parenting and employment but it could potentially help considerably.

R0bert

" that formal education should be flexible and rostered by shifts rather than retained in a rigid 8.30 to 3.00 framework."

Yes, but that means teachers might be required to work odd hours which may not suit them especially if they have young children themeselves. They may ask for extra pay to work out of hours. This could push up the cost of education and affect its accessibility. Alternatively, a teaching instituion may choose to decrease its staffing to pay for any additional costs. Energy bills would increase because of the extra hours classrooms would be used. Children who do sport or music etc out of hours might miss their activities if starting later and staying later.

Overwork is a feature of the economic system that has been engineered over the past three decades. Work is less secure, wealth increases are siphoned disproportionately to the top, a mismanaged financial system inflates house prices, etc., so both parents end up working.

We also have a more fragmented society because we move around so much and our cities don't foster community as well as they could. So Mums are less supported, valued and appreciated.

There will be other factors too, but I see it substantially as a symptom of an economics-dominated society that has got its values all wrong.

@Geoff, yes I think there is a definite need to re-think values. There has been a lot of positive social change in the last 3 decades or so but because the rate of change across virtually all sectors has been so rapid, not least technology, it is important to stop and ask ourselves, "Is xyz working for us?...What do we value the most?...What needs to change?" These are not easy questions to answer and there will be no simple solutions but I think articles like this one highlight the need for such reflection and re-consideration.

@byork, I appreciate your concern that commentary can be problem-focussed at times but unless you ascertain the problem how can you arrive at a solution? Also I believe that the author indeed does alert the reader to a solution - to be less individually focussed in policy/practice in relation to maternal health and more aware of the socio-political forces that shape a woman's experience of motherhood. The practical details are not as important at this stage as a growing consensus among a variety of disciplines that more strategic and systemic measures are needed to tackle maternal health and the experience of families with young children. The helicopter view taken in this article is a refreshing start to an area that has been medicalized for too long. It's an area that cuts to the bone for many... most women in Australian society are or will be a mother.

How has the experience of motherhood changed in the last few decades? What are the stressors? What is the impact of these stressors on women, their families, and their community? What are the possible solutions? These are the questions we need to be asking and well done to Joan for starting the conversation.......