Postpartum Progress

Postpartum Depression & The Glint of Judgment

Only a woman who has been through postpartum depression can truly, deeply understand.   It's that way with most things, isn't it?  I can certainly empathize and try to imagine what it is like to have cancer, but I haven't gone through it and cannot put myself squarely in that place.  That's why we postpartum mood disorder survivors need each other so, and why so many of us dedicate a portion of our lives to helping other women who will as surely as death and taxes experience the same thing.

No offense to the doctors and the husbands and the friends who really care and try to support us, but no one else gets it like a woman who has gone through it.  And to tell the truth, we can see deep down the faint glint in so many eyes that says "Is this what's really going on?"  Yep.  We see it.  We may be mentally ill but we're not stupid.  As much as you try to hide it we can see what you're thinking -- even if you yourself want to believe us and try to tamp down your thoughts.  You're thinking:

• Is she just weak and over-emotional?
• Is she just selfish?  Does she just regret losing her wild and carefree life to the sleepless nights and diaper changes and constant responsibilities of caring for a child?
• Is she just exaggerating to get attention?  Can it really be that bad?
• Is it even possible for someone to have thoughts beyond their control?  What kind of mother thinks of drowning or suffocating her child?  I mean, I've had stress, but I've certainly never thought of anything like that.
• She could just get over it if she really wanted to.
• What kind of person is she, really?

We're suffering from an illness that cannot be seen.  We don't have a fever, swelling, vomiting or diarrhea.  No rash, cramping or stiffness.  No open wounds that will not heal -- at least not the kind you can see with the naked eye.   So many wonder if we're really sick at all.   

And guess what?  So do we.  We wonder whether we're really just defective people who are unworthy of being mothers.  We understand the glint of judgment precisely because we've had it ourselves.  Before we got sick, we looked at others and thought "I would never think that", "I would never do that", and "I would never be like that".  Until we did and until we were, and now we don't have that glint anymore. 

We can see what you're thinking, and we understand.  But it still hurts.  A lot.

Call for Abstracts for 2008 PSI Conference in Houston Next June

Postpartum Support International (PSI) in collaboration with The Women's Mental Health Initiatie at the Mental Health Association of Greater Houston has opened up the opportunity for you to submit workshop abstracts for the 2008 PSI Annual Conference, to take place June 6-7 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston, Texas.  All submissions must be received by 5pm, Friday, November 16, 2007.  Email them to mary@georgeparnham.com or send them via postal mail to YCMF, Mental Health Association of Greater Houston, 2211 Norfolk, Suite 810, Houston, TX, 77098.  The title and theme of the event is "Maternal Mental Health: a Multi-Systemic View".  The goal of the conference is to examine the topic of maternal mental health from a variety of vantage points of the systems involved, including medical, psychological, social, cultural and legal systems among others.  All presentations should related to this theme and enhance understanding of the topic.  Include your workshop title, presentation format and length, your personal information and public speaking expertise, learning objectives, 250 word abstract, and what is new or unique about this material. 

PPD Conference in Illinois on December 3rd

Advocate Health Care will be hosting a Postpartum Depression Conference Monday December 3 from 7:00am to 4pm at the Advocate Christ Medical Center Auditorium in Oak Lawn, Illinois (near Chicago).  This conference will promote a better understanding of postpartum depression and offer continuing education credits for physicians and nurses.  For more information and to register, go to www.advocatehealth.com/cme

Backstage Web Interview from The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet on FOX

Here's a link to my interview after the show last week on "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet", a nationally syndicated FOX morning program.  We're still trying to figure out how to download the actual on-air interview from Tivo so I can share it here.  But here's the other piece for your viewing pleasure ;>) 

http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/postpartum-depression/

Talk Therapy Works For Postpartum Depression

Here's a link to Leigh Ann Simmons' blog Women's Health Matters -- she writes about a new study indicating that talk therapy works to treat postpartum depression.  I think talking it out, whether in therapy or in a support group, is a key part of recovery and for some people may work to treat the illness without meds. 

Latest Update on Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act

We're up to 124 blogs participating in Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act -- that I know of.  Let me tell you that your calls are making an impact.  I talked to Senator Isakson's office of Georgia yesterday (I live in GA) and they said they had been hearing from lots of people and that whatever we were doing was working.  How about that??!!!!!  So if you haven't called yet, please do, and pass on the word.  And let me know if you hear anything from your Senators about what kind of impact we're making.  Power to the people!

Obama Signs On As Co-Sponsor of MOTHERS Act

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has signed on as a co-sponsor of the MOTHERS Act.  Thank you Senator Obama!!   

Keep Blogging & Calling for the MOTHERS Act!!!

I am so overwhelmed with yesterday's participation in Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act.  If you scroll down and take a look at yesterday's post, there is quite an amazing list of bloggers who took the time to write about the MOTHERS Act and postpartum depression and encourage their readers to call their Senators and urge them to support the bill.  Some women shared their experiences with PPD for the very first time yesterday.  I am so humbled by their bravery, and the willingness of so many people to speak out.  Not to mention all the people offline who sent emails to everyone they knew asking them to make calls!

For those of who forgot to blog, or ran out of time, please do it today or tomorrow!  I've heard that the Senators' phone lines were quite busy yesterday, though I can't say for sure it was because of us -- I HOPE SO!  I want to make sure every single voice is heard, so please continue to speak up if you haven't had the chance yet.  Each of you is important to us.  Here's a link to the instructions if you still want to participate.

Thank you again to BlogHer and Postpartum Support International for joining in this effort and providing great resources, energy and support. 

Today is Blog for the MOTHERS Act Day!!

Today is Blog for the MOTHERS Act Day, sponsored by Postpartum Progress, BlogHer and Postpartum Support International!  Ladies, please get blogging!!  Your actions today will make a difference in the lives of all the new mothers created each and every day in America. (Update:  Please tell your readers to keep calling if the lines are busy!! Don't give up!!)

The truth is that our country is more than capable of treating more women more quickly and more effectively when it comes to postpartum mood disorders.  We can do it.  We just don't.  All it takes is will.  A willingness among healthcare providers to further educate themselves and to screen for these illnesses.  A willingness among insurers to help cover costs.  A willingness among all those involved with childbirth education to lay out the truth.

I have the will to tell you what happened to me.  I know hundreds of women who have the will to bare their souls and tell strangers about their most horrifying thoughts and their weakest moments ... who have the will to stand there and take the closed-mindedness and judgments that come from some in order to help someone avoid going through what they went through.  I know mothers like Joan Mudd and Carol Blocker and Helena Bradford who have the will to relive the deaths of their beautiful daughters over and over again just so that they can educate people about postpartum mood disorders. 

I humbly ask you to have the will, today, to write about the MOTHERS Act for postpartum depression, and to call your Senators, and I am asking the United States Senate to find the will to help all of the new mothers created each and every day in America.

For more information on exactly how to participate today, click here and here.  Here is a link to everyone who has posted so far (if I've missed you, shoot me an email):

• Coping With Life
• So Sioux Me
• Dawn's Recipes
• Momsquawk
• Beyond Blue
• The Well Mom
• Flamingo House Happenings
• Parentopia
• Unexpected Blessing
• The Silent I
• Binary Blonde
• The Chronicles of Munchkin Land
• BlogHer
• The Maha Blog
• Pundit Mom
• Fertility Stories
• Kari's Couch
• Stella Family Update
• Ask Moxie
• Long Noodle
• You Shall Above All
• Been There
• Empty Wound Hopeful Heart
• Go-Go Mommy
• We All Fall Down
• DC Metro Moms Blog
• The Hatfields
• Adoptionblogs.com: Birth-First Parent Blog
• 5 Resolutions
• Viva La Feminista
• Chicago Moms Blog
• The Gus Stop
• Spin Me I Pulsate
• Welcome to My Brain
• Maternally Challenged
• Earth Change
• Postpartum Mental Illness Yahoo! Group
• SoCal Mom
• My Life With Mr. Rogers
• All of My Days
• Life Outside the Box
• The Integrated Mother
• The Mummy Chronicles
• Shelly Says
• Boogiemum
• Mom of 3 Girls
• Life After Baby
• Healthy Concerns
• Pop Consumer
• Ruta Nonacs: A Deeper Shade of Blue
• Surfette
• Growing A Life
• Central Sanity
• ShortWoman
• Women 4 Hope
• The Dana Files
• Center for Women's Mental Health Blog
• martinimade
• This Full House
• Motherscribe
• Don't Try This At Home
• Not Calm (dot com)
• Boston Mamas
• The Modern Woman's Divorce Guide
• Work It, Mom!
• PPD Survivor
• The Fish Pond
• Sofia's Diary
• The Online PPD Support Group
• Ask Dr. Manny (FOX)
• Amazing Instant
• Surrender, Dorothy
• Silicon Valley Moms Blog
• Sarah and the Goon Squad!
• Strollerderby
• Is America Burning
• Moms Speak Up
• Babylune
• Strollerderby: Armchair Activism
• The Postpartum Stress Center
• MamasInk
• Marriage, Stillbirth & Infant Loss Blog Directory
• Tough Like A Creampuff
• http://fasttimes.clubmom.com/fast_times/2007/10/blog-day-for-th.html
• Vevz
• My Om Page
• Mountain Momma
• My Scrapbook Life
• The Political Voices of Women
• Disguised Blessings
• The Toddler Reality Show
• The Huffington Post
• Roc Rebel Granny
• Renton Kidspot
• MacEwan
• O for Obsessive
• Pretty Babies
• Odd Time Signatures
• Mom's Tinfoil Hat
• A Girl's Gotta Spa
• Claire Bear
• Not That I Don't Love My Kids
• Silicon Valley Moms Blog: Beth B
• Silicon Valley Moms Blog: Mommaof1
• Skeet's Stuff
• ifferjen's blog
• Tumble Dry
• Coping With Life (follow up story)
• A Mile in My Berks
• Nickie's Nook
• Do the Yak
• Mrs. Flinger
• Club Mom: Mom's Daily Dose
• Amerimama
• Deep Muck Big Rake
• Blondie At the Bar
• Screamy Thing
• VDog and Little Man
• A Piece of My Mind
• hip Mama
• LaurieWrites
• The Happy Geek
• Wendy's Thoughts About Anything and Everything
• The Daily Court
• Missives from Suburbia
• Trenches of Mommyhood
• Daring Young Mom
• Kovixen
• I Hate Snaps
• Minivan Bohemian
• A Daughter's Touch
• Managing Life Transitions

Watch The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet on Tuesday am!!

I'm in the airport right now headed to NY to do a segment tomorrow on "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet" on FOX.  (It's on your local FOX affiliate and airs from 9-10am EST.)   I'll be appearing with Dr. Shari Lusskin from NYU and appearing via satellite will be Katie Corcoran's husband to talk about her disappearance.  Hope you can tune in!  Pray for me that the right words come out of my mouth to let women know they are not alone.  And that the segment doesn't get bumped because of breaking news! 

Amy Grant Discusses Her Postpartum Depression in New Memoir

Here's a link to an article that just appeared in the Nashville Tennessean about singer Amy Grant's new memoir, "Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far".  Apparently, Amy speaks out for the first time about suffering postpartum depression in her new book.  From the article:

In Mosaic, Grant, 46, speaks publicly for the first time about the cyclical onset of depression when the winter days grow shorter. She also mentions postpartum depression, a miscarriage and being "too wrecked and too ashamed" to say nightly prayers with her young children when her first marriage fell apart.

 

Melanie Blocker Stokes Act Passes in U.S. House!!

On Monday, October 15th at 4:15pm, perinatal mental health history was made as H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, was passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 382 to 3!!  "What a thrill it was to watch from the Congressional Gallery as Congressman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) made his final, victorious push for American, children and families," said Susan Stone, president of Postpartum Support International.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Congressman Bobby L. Rush, Carol Blocker (who lost her daughter Melanie to this terrible illness), Susan Stone and Postpartum Support International, and all the other people who have toiled for years to get this passed. 

This is huge.  Now we just have to get the MOTHERS Act passed and we'll be IN BUSINESS!  Money for research!  Screening for new moms!  Training for healthcare providers!  Wahoo!  Get your telephones ready on October 24th to make those calls to Senators!!!

Not A Blogger? How To Participate on October 24th to Help Pass The MOTHERS Act

I have heard from many concerned women, mothers, family and friends who want to see the MOTHERS Act passed in the Senate but are not bloggers, and thus are not sure how they can help on October 24th for "Blog for the MOTHERS Act" Day. 

Please know that you DO NOT have to be a blogger to participate in Blog for the MOTHERS Act Day.  What is most important is that as many people as possible call their Senators on October 24 to urge them to support the MOTHERS Act.  Put together an email list of EVERYONE you know.  Go to www.postpartum.net and click on the "welcome bloggers" button at the top to go to the page that gives instructions on how to call your senator and what to say.  Copy those instructions and paste them into your email or text message or fax or WHATEVER! to everyone you know and tell them that you are personally asking them to participate on October 24th.  Tell them it only takes a minute or two to pick up the phone and make the call.  It's easy.

Please believe me that all of the offline participants in this day will have just as much impact as the online ones!!!!  We NEED your participation!!

Help Mothers Everywhere: Join Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act on October 24th

(crossposted at BlogHer and Postpartum Progress)

A beautiful young mother of two has been missing in Rhode Island now for more than a month.

Her name is Katie Corcoran and she is suffering from postpartum psychosis.  She was supposed to be released from the hospital to her family, but on September 5th, in some kind of mix-up, she was sent off in a taxi instead.  Her husband, small children, family and friends haven't seen or heard from her since.  This week, a friend of the family emailed me the following letter from Katie's mother, Nancy, to publish on my blog Postpartum Progress:

Katie,

This is your mom - please call home.  I want to know if you are safe.  I think about you all the time.  I worry about you.  I want to take care of you - with love and understanding.  You have always been my pride and joy.

Please.  Please call.

This story and so many others like it fill me with deep sadness and regret.  Women who commit suicide.  Women, like my mother, who don't know what's wrong with them, don't get treated and become alcoholics to escape the pain.  Women who reach out for help but are ignored or stigmatized and feel that hurt for the rest of their lives.  I regret that in this day and age we still don't know enough about dealing with postpartum mood disorders that something like Katie's disappearance could happen.  She is out there somewhere, hopefully alive, most likely delusional and alone.  And it's not her fault.  Before this she was a perfectly normal person.  She just happened to draw the short straw for postpartum mood disorders, and now she's lost. 

You and I can do something about this.  Maybe we can't just drop everything, go off in a plane to parts unknown with a picture of Katie in hand and search for her, but we CAN do something ... for Katie and for all the other mothers past and present and future who have suffered or will suffer from these illnesses.

On Wednesday October 24th, BlogHer, Postpartum Support International and Postpartum Progress are joining together to host Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act.  We're asking bloggers from around the country to write about the MOTHERS Act for postpartum depression on the 24th and to encourage their readers to pick up the phone that day, call their Senators and urge them to endorse this critical legislation.  I hope you will join us in this effort, which is part of the overall BlogHers Act 2007-2008 initiative to improve maternal health.

What is the MOTHERS Act?  The Moms Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act, or MOTHERS Act (S. 1375), will ensure that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms and provided with essential services.  In addition, it will increase research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression.  The bill is sponsored by Senators Menendez and Durbin.

Postpartum depression is a serious and disabling condition that affects up to 20 percent of new mothers -- as much as 800,000 American women each year.  Yet only 15 percent of these women will receive any assessment or treatment.  Let me repeat.  With all we know and as smart as we are, only 15% of 800,000 women will get diagnosed and treated.  That is so wrong on so many levels.  Women are not being diagnosed because they're not being educated and they're not being screened.  Untreated, the consequences of maternal mood disorders range from chronic, disabling depression to death.  The impact of untreated maternal depression on infants/children ranges from behavioral and learning disabilities to depression and, in the worst case scenarios, death from infanticide.

Specifically, the MOTHERS Act will help new moms by:

• Providing important education and screening on postpartum depression (PPD) that can lead to early identification and treatment.  The legislation includes two grants to help healthcare providers educate, identify and treat PPD.
• Expanding important research to improve and discover new treatments, diagnostic tools and educational materials for providers.  Since the exact cause of PPD isn't known, research continues to be the key to unlocking the mystery of this condition.

The bill is currently with the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee of the Senate.  If the majority of the HELP Committee members endorse the MOTHERS Act, the bill will move forward for consideration by the Senate.  Without Senate sponsors, the bill could languish in committee and await reintroduction at a future date.  The moms of America can't wait for that.

Most Senators rarely hear from mothers (and others!), and phone calls from you and your readers will cause them to sit up and take notice on a specific issue.  Writing or sending emails has much less impact.  With your support, Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act can truly have a measurable impact.

Here's what to do on October 24th: 

• Grab a Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act button from BlogHer here and display it on your blog now.
• Tell your fellow bloggers about Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act so they can participate too.
• Visit the Postpartum Support International website and click the Welcome Bloggers button at the top to get all the information you need about the bill, how your readers can call their Senators, what to say, etc.
• Publish your post on postpartum depression and the MOTHERS Act on Wednesday, October 24th and don't forget to tag your post with: Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act, BlogHers Act, BlogHer, Postpartum Progress, Postpartum Support International, postpartum depression
• MAKE THOSE CALLS!!
• Once you've blogged, be sure to go back to the BlogHer page and leave your URL so others can link to you.
• I also welcome you to visit me at Postpartum Progress and leave a link to your blog or a message to my readers, most of whom are sufferers and the people who care for them.  If you have a question, email me at stonecallis@msn.com.

By the way, if you're not a blogger, I still encourage you to participate by calling and asking those around you to call their Senators to galvanize support for passage of the MOTHERS Act.  The more calls the better!!!

Postpartum mood disorders are a disease of motherhood -- they can affect any woman who becomes a mother, regardless of who she is.  If we don't do something to better educate and treat the mothers who may suffer, we are doing a disservice to all mothers, children and families everywhere.  All it takes is a phone call to let the Senate know that the women of America want the MOTHERS Act to pass.    

PPD Among Latina Women To Be Addressed At November Conference

Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital will be hosting "The Latina Woman: Self Esteem, Postpartum Depression and Mental Health Issues" on Friday, November 9th, from 8:30am to 12:30pm at the Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.  The event offers free registration and CEUs.

The focus of the workshop is to highlight physical, emotional and spiritual issues relevant to today's Latina women.  Expert speakers will examine current research and provide practical information on how to assess and treat issues with this population.  For additional information or to register, email Donna.Siegler@abbhh.net or call 847-755-8006.

Vancouver Mother Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Murdering 20-Month-Old

AGAIN???!!  This happens again??!!  When will people wake up and see that postpartum psychosis is no joke?  When will we develop better ways to treat and care for women with psychosis so that they aren't in a position to harm themselves or others?  My heart breaks all over again every time I read about another family destroyed due to postpartum psychosis.  From The Columbian:

"A Vancouver mother was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison for murdering her youngest child.

Kelly N. Meining, 32, pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to first-degree murder in the May 19, 2006, stabbing death of Bryce J. Meining, age 20 months ...

Meining's husband and parents told Clark County Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard on Tuesday that doctors and child protective services had failed Bryce and his mother, because they knew she was mentally ill.

Every time his wife saw a doctor about her hallucinations, insomnia and paranoia, we left the hospital with nothing more than a bottle of pills,' Kris Meining said.

Sandy Reed said that in the years leading up to her grandson's death, her daughter had been diagnosed with illnesses from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia to postpartum psychosis. She was prescribed  22 different medications, Reed said.

I love you, Kelly,' Reed said before returning to her seat in the courtroom.

When it was the defendant's turn to speak, Meining told Woolard she was tired of people making excuses.

'I murdered my son, and there are no excuses,' Meining said. 'He was supposed to be safe with me, his mom.'

She said she knows her family is just trying to help, 'but I deserve to be in prison' ...

The one request she made of Woolard was to allow contact visits with her daughter, 7, and son, 4. She has seen them every other month while incarcerated at the Clark County Jail, but only through a glass panel.

Woolard, after consulting with Kris Meining, agreed to supervised, contact visits so the children could hug their mother and attempt to maintain a relationship while she's in prison.

I know it isn't easy to treat people with psychosis.  If they don't take their medication they won't get better.  If they or their families refuse hospitalization, what can be done?  If the people around them look the other way or if there is no one to care for them, how can they be monitored?  How long should they be kept hospitalized? 

I realize I don't have all the facts of the case, and that Meining herself says that much of the responsibility lies with her, but couldn't we do more to prevent this?  Shouldn't we?

Postpartum Progress: Together, stronger.

The votes are in and you've picked the official tagline of Postpartum Progress:  Together, stronger.  Did we need a tagline or slogan, you're asking?  Perhaps not, but since I spent 15 years doing marketing and PR I just can't help myself!  (Doesn't everything need a slogan?  ;>) )  Thanks so much for giving me your input.  And thanks to Erin O'Connor for creating it for me. 

Postpartum Progress. Together, stronger.
1. Families/parents/children are still together and now stronger after surviving PPMDs (see the Surviving & Thriving Mothers Photo Album for proof!)

2. As a united group of concerned moms, we have more strength to increase awareness and legislation

3. the readers of Postpartum Progress can connect with and support each other

Your Prayers Are Needed For Missing Rhode Island Mom

I have a request for those who are the more spiritual among us:  please pray for the safe return of Katie Corcoran of Rhode Island.  Katie, mother of two boys, has been missing since September 5th.  As I understand it (and I may not have all of the details exactly correct), Katie was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was released from the hospital to a cab instead of to her husband.  The cab took her to a local shelter, but she never went inside and hasn't been heard from in almost a month.  Of course this is terribly concerning.  She is suffering from a very serious mental illness and most likely has no access to medicine or treatment.  We need to send out a collective prayer that she comes to no harm and is found and returned to her family safely.  But for the grace of God, every single one of us could be in exactly her position.

Results Out on Kaiser Permanente Study on Depression Before, During & After Pregnancy

According to a new study from Kaiser Permanente, more than one in seven women are depressed in the nine months before pregnancy, during their pregnancy, or in the nine months after giving birth.  Highlights from an article on the study on WebMD:

The new research expands on information already known about depression after childbirth.  "People have known for quite a while that postpartum depression is a serious, sometimes devastating event," says researcher Evelyn Whitlock, MD, MPH, senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. "One of the things we were able to do is look across the spectrum -- nine months before pregnancy, the nine months of pregnancy, and the nine months postpartum. I think this is the first study to do that" ...

The study, with an accompanying editorial urging more research, is published in the October issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Whitlock and her colleagues evaluated 4,398 women, all members of the Kaiser Permanente HMO, who had given birth between 1998 and 2001.

Before pregnancy, 8.7% were identified as depressed by their health care providers; 6.9% were classified as depressed during the pregnancy, and 10.4% were depressed in the nine months after delivery. In all, 15.4%, or more than one in seven of the women, were depressed during at least one of the three periods.

About half of the women who had postpartum depression also were depressed before the pregnancy occurred or during pregnancy. More than half of those depressed before pregnancy became depressed during the pregnancy, suggesting the condition is not temporary or relieved by getting pregnant or by giving birth.

Whitlock also found that 93.4% of those with pregnancy-related depression had seen a mental health provider and/or gotten antidepressants. About 77% of women took an antidepressant before becoming pregnant, 67% during pregnancy, and 82% after giving birth. Since the study, reports of possible side effects of antidepressant use during pregnancy, including lung problems and heart problems in newborns, have been published. As a result, doctors emphasize that a careful evaluation of the risks and benefits is crucial before deciding on an antidepressant during pregnancy ...

CBS Cares' Matthew Margo Receives PRISM Award

Today, Matthew Margo, Senior Vice President of Program Practices at CBS Television Network, will be a special guest at the PRISM awards Showcase on Capitol Hill in DC.  Mr. Margo is responsible for CBS Cares.  The PRISM showcase, presented to Congress and sponsored by the Entertainment Industry Council and others, highlights excellent work in the industry which has focused on social and mental health concerns.

Among other CBS Cares mental and social health initiatives, Mr. Margo plans to reference the importance of perinatal mental health and present the CBS Cares public service announcements on postpartum depression. These PSA's, featuring Cold Case stars Kathyrn Morris (English) and Danny Pino (Spanish), were nationally aired during primetime television throughout the past year, and were developed with Postpartum Support International (PSI President's Advisory Council member Dr. Margaret Spinelli and PSI President Susan Stone served as consultants). Mr. Margo intends to also reference the importance of PSI's work.

Congratulations Mr. Margo and thank you for the support of CBS Cares!!!