Nemone Lethbridge's play Baby Blues on BBC television
Maternal mental illness narratives, stigma and support in 1970s Britain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4348539 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francis Creed (0000-0003-3077-5002, University of Warwick, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 93-117 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Women s History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0961-2025 • E-ISSN: 1747-583X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09612025.2024.2327895 |
| PMID | 39844941 |
| OpenAlex | W4392848353 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
In December 1973, the BBC aired Nemone Lethbridge’s auto-fictional play Baby Blues as one of their influential ‘Play for Today’ (PfT) series (1970–1984). This article explores the impact of Lethbridge’s controversial television play, which drew attention to taboo topics, such as infertility, caesarean section childbirth, infanticide, suicide, and, separately, motherhood ageism and dismissive medical professionals. It will illustrate how Lethbridge’s play Baby Blues was part of a broader change in discussing maternal mental illness and creating support for women experiencing postnatal depression and psychosis, instigated by the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM). The article situates Baby Blues within the wider history of the PfT series, with its focus on socio-political issues, and highlights the challenges Lethbridge faced in bringing the play to production. It analyses the mixed responses to the play, many of which were critical, and how this led to Lethbridge’s launching of a grass-roots self-help group, Depressives Anonymous (DA), in 1974, which was—and still is—a long-lasting legacy of Baby Blues. The article builds on the history of maternal mental illness as explored in women’s narratives and its association with stigma, support and feminism, alongside the British Broadcasting Corporation’s television series PfT, in 1970s Britain
Art · Art history · Blues · Developmental psychology · Literature · Mental health · Mental illness · Narrative · Psychiatry · Autobiographical and Biographical Writing · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Psychology
Play for Today
Women Writers and Writing Women into Histories of Play for Today
The Women’s Liberation Movement and the Politics of Class in Britain
A Revolution in Maternity Care? Women and the Maternity Services, Oxfordshire c. 1948-1974
Angela Davis, Modern Motherhood
Boys on top
Psychoses associated with childbirth
Poorly paid, but proud to work in teams producing 'quality
To Be or Not to Be
The sociology of childbirth
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |