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The Family & Children's Center in South Bend, Indiana, launched a new Perinatal Mood Disorders Program this past January. The program, run by the counseling branch of the center, has three therapists specially trained in postpartum depression. FYI, for those of you in Indiana!!
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PSI President Susan Dowd-Stone informs me that there will be a hearing on the Melanie Blocker Stokes Act on May 1st.
In addition, The MOTHER's Act is scheduled to be reintroduced in the Senate soon. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has now signed on as the lead Republican Co-Sponsor, which was a very important step. If you have not yet written or called your Senators and local Congressman, or even if you already have, call and write them now and urge others who care to do so as well. For more information on these bills and how to reach your state's legislators, click here.
If you are a Republican, it is even more important to reach out, as they have lagged behind in supporting these bills. I reached out to Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Jonny Isakson in Georgia with the following letter:
Please support the MOTHER'S Act, which has now been co-sponsored by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Me). As a Republican and a past sufferer of postpartum depression, for the life of me I can't understand why more Republicans don't get on board with this issue. You should understand the importance of healthy moms in the first year of their children's lives and thereafter. Please, PLEASE support this legislation. Thousands of women in Georgia each year suffer from postpartum mood disorders, and Georgia even has one of the top treatment/research facilities at the Emory Women's Mental Health Program. Georgia should be a leader in this effort!
There are still sponsorship opportunities available for the Postpartum Support International Conference, June 21-23 in Kansas City. Some of those opportunities include:
These donations are, of course, tax-deductible. For more information on the benefits of each sponsorship and how to donate, contact PSI at psioffice@postpartum.net
The Postpartum Health Alliance in San Diego is looking for volunteers. If you care about women who are suffering from postpartum mood disorders, live in the area and have some time to spare, please contact them about the following activities:
* Staffing the Warmline, responding to calls from moms in need of information and referrals.
* Writing a column or article for Crib Notes.
* Selling ads or sponsorships for Crib Notes.
* Set up and clean up for May 17th MamaFest fundraiser in Cardiff.
There is a GREAT need for Spanish-speaking volunteers, to support San Diego's Spanish-speaking moms!!! Also, there are two Board of Director Openings: Fundraiser Chair and Secretary. The Board of Directors meets once a month. Please attend a meeting and meet us all.
For more information, contact (619) 685-7458.
PHA is a non-profit, San Diego based organization dedicated to raising awareness about postpartum depression and related disorders and providing treatment referrals to women who are struggling with them.
Hooray for Queens, NY! According to the Queens Tribune, Flushing and Jamaica Hospitals are now working to combat the stigma of postpartum depression and educate moms-to-be, according to Seeth Vivek, the Department of Psychiatry Chair at both hospitals.
The Neonatal Units and psychiatric departments at Flushing Hospital and Jamaica Hospital have created a program where all mothers are screened for postpartum depression prior to discharge from their hospitals, and they also conduct a follow-up evaluation during the first prenatal checkup..
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released a new booklet on depression during and after pregnancy (perinatal depression). The booklet contains tips on identifying the condition in mothers and offers six steps to help treat it successfully. (Note: HRSA is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
Called "Depression During and After Pregnancy: A Resource for Women, Their Families, and Friends,” the 22-page booklet is designed to increase awareness among women and clinicians of perinatal depression’s impact and pervasiveness. It also contains information for family members and a list of print and Internet resources. A new Web site, www.mchb.hrsa.gov/pregnancyandbeyond/depression, provides easy-to-understand, downloadable tools for women, their families and health care professionals.
To order a free paper copy of the booklet or to download it, click here.
On Saturday May 12, I am looking forward to appearing in Chicago on a panel discussing postpartum mood disorders. The panel will be part of an event called the "Operation Blue Lady PPD Symposium", which is being held at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago from 11am to 2pm. My fellow panelists include Dr. Shoshanna Bennett, Carol Blocker, Tann Moore, Dr. Sarah Allen and George Smith.
At the event, the inaugural Melanie Blocker Stokes Leadership Award will be presented to Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) for his work on the Melanie Blocker Stokes Act, bill H.R. 20. Congressman Rush will be a keynote speaker, as will Carol Blocker and Susan Dowd-Stone, president of Postpartum Support International.
The event will also feature a book signing by Sylvia Lasalandra, author of "A Daughter's Touch", and a presentation of the stage play "Cries of the Blue Lady" by Tann Moore.
To register to attend, click here.
Many, many congratulations to Heidi Koss-Nobel and everyone else involved in the state of Washington in working to get the Postpartum Depression Awareness Campaign fully funded by the state legislature. Thank you, Washington, for providing resources for such an important cause!!
This is an excellent story from the Orange County Register by Theresa Walker about how postpartum mood disorders impact new fathers. It is sometimes easy to forget the toll these disorders take on our husbands, who are completely unprepared for the role they have to take on in caring for their new babies and their sick wives. Here are some highlights:
" ... Left to deal with his wife's condition, the baby's care, his job and maintaining their household, Alex suffered, too. Only he didn't realize it until weeks later, when he found himself bouncing between his own bouts of tears, anger and emotional numbness ...
But Alex had to ask for and accept help, something men in his situation are typically reluctant to do.
'Alex is a good example of someone who could see he was in the middle of it as well, and that it was not just about Elisabeth,' says Vivianna Schilpp, a licensed clinical social worker with St. Joseph who provides individual and group therapy for the postpartum program.
'I would love to see more men do that – to participate, ask questions, be honest about how it affects them and admit that they don't know what to do when she falls apart.'
The dads can become depressed and angry over what's happened to their families. They can physically exhaust themselves.
The dads' first inclination is to fix it – a common male response. But they don't know how.
'They take on this tremendous role, especially initially,' Schilpp says. 'There is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about postpartum depression, and if he doesn't have a place to ask questions and talk about how it's affecting him, there often is a huge strain on a marriage.'"
I've decided to create a new resource for Postpartum Progress. I want to create a list of centers across the U.S. that specifically specialize in researching and treating women's perinatal mood disorders. I want a list of places where women can go and be assured that these centers are on the forefront of treating perinatal depression and discovering its sources -- they're the best of the best. Often, when people find out they have cancer, they conduct research to find out the absolute best places to go for treatment. This list will provide that type of information for women suffering from perinatal mood disorders, including postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder.
To be included, centers must clearly specialize in treating perinatal mood disorders, conduct research on perinatal mood disorders, offer clear and accessible web-based information on the types of treatment offered and how women can become patients, and also be accepting new patients for treatment. Examples of such places would include:
* The Emory Women's Mental Health Program at Emory University in Atlanta
* The Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Women's Mental Health in Boston
* The University of North Carolina's Center for Women's Mood Disorders in Chapel Hill, NC
I personally was treated at Emory during my second pregnancy and I loved it for two reasons:
1) They knew EXACTLY what they were doing, as this is what Doctors Stowe and Newport treat every day of the week. It's not just a side job for them -- it's their life. I believe you get better treatment from physicians who focus intensely on postpartum mood disorders. And, they're more likely to be able to refer you to the best therapists in your area for these disorders as well.
2) I was able to participate in a research program that will contribute to increased knowledge about the treatment of these disorders in the future. I think that is extremely important. The more information we have, the better the treatment will be and the less potential harmful side effects (hopefully) to ourselves and our children. We need to be willing to contribute to the amount of data that is available on these illnesses.
Please email me at stonecallis@msn.com with your recommendations and their related website addresses, and, if appropriate, I'll add those centers to my list and keep it available on Postpartum Progress for all readers.
Here's a link to an article from the San Diego Union-Tribune about a mother with postpartum depression who attempted infanticide but was (thankfully!) unsuccessful. These types of stories are tough to read, but they help reinforce the importance of treatment.
Here's a link to a very interesting column from the New Jersey Record by columnist Lawrence Aaron about what he sees as the reluctance of African-Americans to seek mental health counseling. It helps to remind me that there are many reasons -- including resistance from family members, worries about effects on insurance and social pressures, among others -- that prevent people from reaching out for help. This is something we need to respect and to keep in mind as we try to get help for women who need it, regardless of their race, origin or creed.
The Kempe PPD Intervention Program and Denver's Children's Hospital will host their inaugural annual conference on Saturday, May 5th, at the Children's Hospital Vestal Education Center in Denver. The fee to attend is $150 and CMEs are available. Click here for a link to the conference brochure and information on how to register (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the link).
Sandra Poulin: The Mother-to-Mother Postpartum Depression Support Book (****)
Karen Kleiman: What Am I Thinking? Having a Baby After Postpartum Depression (****)
Shoshana S. Bennett: Postpartum Depression For Dummies (****)
Karen Kleiman: This Isn't What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression (****)
Susan McRoberts: The Lifter of My Head: How God Sustained Me During Postpartum Depression
Tracy Thompson: The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children, and Struggling with Depression
