Tag: Mother s little helper

Between 1968 and 1982, Valium was America's most prescribed medication, with sales peaking in 1978 when over 2 billion tablets were sold [1.2.6, 1.2.3]. The question of *What is Mother's Little Helper drug?* is deeply tied to this era of widespread tranquilizer use.

The 1966 Rolling Stones song "Mother's Little Helper" cemented a cultural slang term for tranquilizers. This phrase most commonly referred to the benzodiazepine **Valium (diazepam)**, highlighting the societal trend of medicating female anxiety in the mid-20th century.

By 1956, only one year after its release, doctors had written 36 million prescriptions for the tranquilizer Miltown, a drug commonly associated with 1950s housewives coping with anxiety. Often nicknamed “Mother's Little Helper,” this and other prescription pills reveal the intense societal pressures and expectations placed on women during that era.

In 1966, the Rolling Stones' song "Mother's Little Helper" brought public attention to the use of tranquilizers by women, revealing that the serene image of the 1950s housewife was often maintained with pharmacological assistance. The song underscored a complex social and medical history, exploring what drugs did housewives used to take to cope with the pressures of domestic life.