"She Was Feeling Overwhelmed at Home Caring for Her Children": Expectations of "Intensive Motherhood" as a Risk Factor for Young Women's Suicide.

ABSTRACT

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young women and perinatal mothers. This paper explores how expectations of motherhood played a role in young women's deaths by suicide. I question the notion that motherhood is a "protective" factor against suicide. Using the concept of "intensive motherhood," I interrogate how expectations of mothers became fatal. Through analysis of 31 young Australian mothers who died by suicide, three key themes are explored, centered upon the theme of "failing motherhood" mothering without a father, mothering with mental illness, and the loss of care of children.