Michelle on graduation day with her daughters.
Dr Michelle Walker wasn’t prepared for the effect writing her PhD thesis would have on her.
“I feel more empathetic. I understand the women and families of the past a lot better. I feel more connected to tīpuna and the future,” Michelle says.
The mum of two, and Research Advisor in Te Kete Aronui Division of Humanities, graduated on Wednesday with a PhD in History and Preventive and Social Medicine – her fourth degree from Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. She also has a Bachelor and Master’s in History, and a Bachelor in Classical Performance in Voice.
Her Doctoral thesis is titled Aotearoa’s Postpartum Psychiatric “Problem”: Exploring New Zealand’s hidden “epidemic of suffering”, 1850-1980.
“‘Hidden epidemic of suffering’ is a quote by Max Abbott from 1982 when he wrote, as far as I can find, the first Government directed health directive to mothers that they should be aware of post-partum mental illness. Before that it was not talked about publicly,” Michelle says.
The “problem” Michelle says is not that mothers have been ill – “the problem is the silence on the topic in our public narratives, and in our family histories”.
Michelle has personal experience of postpartum depression and one of her family’s stories passed down is her great-grandfather’s first wife’s experience of postpartum psychosis.
“I can see this continuum – statistically people have always suffered from this illness and likely always will. What changes is the culture and how we talk about and accept it.”
A continued interest in research combined with increasingly wondering about how mothers’ coped in the past led her to this research, which on a personal level for Michelle was “a cathartic and healing process”.
While there has been medical research into postpartum psychiatric illnesses there has been little social and historical examination on the impact of the illness on families and women.
“It’s an inherently challenging topic because people don’t leave records of things they were embarrassed and ashamed about – there is individual, societal, and national ‘shame’.”
Michelle on graduation day with her family, from the left are her parents Mark and Joss Willyams, sister Jenny Denley, Michelle, husband Tim Walker, mother-in-law Jenny Aimers, sister Kate Calder, and daughters Olivia and Elizabeth.
It was key that the project be interdisciplinary, as this medical research was Michelle’s way in. Her supervisor Barbara Brookes recommended Michelle go to Preventive and Social Medicine with Professor Rachael McLean – a former history student herself, and a General Practitioner.
Michelle was able to access archives from this Department from the 1920s to the 1970s. She found 16 that directly related to, and four on her exact topic: one from the 1950s, one from the 1960s and two from the 1970s. She also explored the archives of the Plunket Society, newspapers, and asylums among many others.
“Exploring the patterns of care and the ways that archives and historiographical narratives discussed the topic, I sought to understand why women feel ashamed about struggling with early motherhood.
“It’s been really visceral and at times painful to read those accounts. I wasn’t expecting the suffering to reach through the archives. I hope I have given the women justice in bringing aspects of their experiences to light.”
Michelle says she has always had an active mind, including during her secondary schooling Dunstan High School, where she was named co-Dux.
“I was a pretty highly strung teenager, but I have finally learned to study for joy not for grades and to find purpose in seeking knowledge for societal benefit.
“I have always been interested in thinking critically and asking what is it about our society that brings us together or creates division, what are the patterns of society and culture, and how does this benefit, or otherwise, us as a whole?"
Her research over the years has been diverse. It includes a summer scholarship on the history of the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club, and a Master’s in History exploring the history of the Methodist Waiata Māori Choir. After graduating she was commissioned to write the 50th Jubilee history of Dunstan High School.
A lot of Michelle's life has been influenced by the humanities- she has experienced a career that spans business, the arts and the community sectors. She is a gifted singer, performing in musical theatres, operas, choirs, and has a professional role with Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir with which she tours the country.
None of these achievements – academic and musical - would be possible without the support from many friends and family, she says.
“I am sincerely grateful to Associate Professor Frances Steel, Professor Rachael McLean, and Professor Emerita Barbara Brookes ... my parents ... my husband Tim is my biggest supporter, and my late father-in-law Dr Peter Walker who encouraged me to start this journey. I'm honoured to wear his doctoral gown.
“Finally – I extend aroha to the women and their families about whom this thesis is about. Your stories matter, and hopefully our society will learn from their experiences for New Zealand’s future mothers.”