Susan Dowd Stone on EmpowHER: screening for postpartum mood disorders is a good thing!

On the EmpowHER web site, award-winning therapist and nationally renowned postpartum depression expert Susan Dowd Stone recently wrote an article about the concept of mandated screening for postpartum mood disorders. You can click here to find the article.

In the article, Stone addresses the misconceptions that have been floating around, (mainly due to a backlash of reactions to the MOTHERS ACT legislation), on screening that is offered to new moms. There have been plenty of rumors that women will be forced to be screened for postpartum depression and other postpartum mood disorders, however that is simply not the case.

What I don't understand about all of this is why some women are turning this into a big issue. What are they afraid of? Screening is a great thing, and any health care facilities that offer screening for postpartum mood disorders should be applauded. Women are certainly not going to be forced into screening if they're not interested.

If there had been screening back in 1996, when I went through my own postpartum depression hell, then maybe I wouldn't have experienced PPD in the first place. Any preventative measure like postpartum mood disorder screening can only be helpful to a lot of women and their families.

If you're interested in finding more of Susan Dowd Stone's work, you can visit her web site at: http://www.perinatalpro.com.

Nurse Practitioner Schools names top 50 PPD blogs, including this one!

The Nurse Practitioner Schools web site has a listing of the top 50 postpartum depression support blogs, sites and online communities that are out there on the web. It's a very comprehensive listing, including not only this blog, but also some really stellar blogs by women who have become women's health advocates after experiencing their own bout of PPD.

Of course, some of my absolute favorites are on the list, such as Dr. Shoshana Bennett's Postpartum Depression Recovery blog, Susan Dowd Stone's PerinatalPro blog and my friend Ivy's PPD blog.

It's well worth it to check out the list in its entirety. It's organized by type, so whether you're looking for a PPD blog written by a mom or one written by a professional or a blog that's geared solely for dads, you can find whatever you need here. There are some truly amazing stories of hope within these sites, as well as fantastic resources.

How do you reach a non-believer?

I was on a mom's web site last night and was astounded when I read a post from a woman who says she doesn't believe that postpartum depression exists.  And yet she has been suffering from various ailments for the past 3 months, including weight gain, major lethargy, headaches that don't seem to go away, sadness and frustration.  Oh, and did I mention she has a 3-month-old baby?  If she doesn't believe in PPD, then just what does she attribute all those yucky symptoms to??  She also mentioned that the women who say they have PPD are just wimps who need to get a grip and focus on their baby instead of themselves.  Nice.

So how do you reach women who don't believe in PPD??  I did post a comment in her conversation thread....how could I not?  I tried to let her know just how real PPD is, and barraged her with links to web sites such as PSI's, Susan Dowd Stone, and other PPD resources.  I also mentioned that mental disorders like PPD can be more insidious than your average disease because they are invisible.  But try to tell someone with Autism that it's not real just because you can't see it.  I hope she checked out at least one of the resources I listed.  I hope she gets help.  It's tragic to think of someone suffering from PPD when it's so easily treatable.

MUST READ: A dad shares his story of losing his daughter to PPD

Susan Dowd Stone recently posted the following incredibly touching story on EmpowHer.  It's from a dad, Joseph S. Raso, who lost his daughter to postpartum depression.  He asked Susan to post or share his story wherever she felt it could help others.  I'm helping to share it as well.....

The Best Meal of My Life

I experienced the best meal of my life the other day. That’s saying a lot from a man who is just shy of 60, and has spent his entire life in the restaurant business. Since my 6th birthday, when my parents opened up La Bella’s, a little mom and pop Italian restaurant, I have had the opportunity to travel and enjoy delicious meals prepared by some the world’s finest chefs.

Even after my wife left, and I was faced the prospect of raising two energetic children on peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and Hamburger Helper, I never lost my appetite for fine dining.

In the early 90’s I met my current wife Mary, a beautiful single mom of two. Her parents had passed, so I asked her eldest teenage daughter, Crystal, for permission to take her mom to dinner. It’s funny - looking back now, I can’t tell you what Mary was wearing, but the restaurant was a perfect combination of cozy atmosphere and scrumptious food.

As 2000 rolled around, our kids now grown, Mary and I discovered cruise ships. We realized, if we carefully picked our departure dates, we could cruise for about $200.00 a day with the all important, MEALS INCLUDED!

On a cruise ship, nothing surpasses the experience of a savory dinner of two hours, your meal prepared by top chefs, while enjoying an unhurried conversation with your spouse. A brochure on one of our cruises informed us that, for an extra $25.00, we could have the “Ultimate Dining Experience”. We could not believe our meals could get any tastier but we gave it a try. Words cannot explain the evening. The service was impeccable and the food was to die for. Gazing at Mary across the table with the moon rising behind her made my diner all the more unforgettable.

We have been on about ten cruises now and I never thought we could top those culinary delights, until the other day, when I experienced the best meal of my life.

Crystal, the oldest of our four children, was always the more serious. She was the one to whom we entrusted our most important papers and house keys when we left town. Crystal gave birth to Hannah in 2003 and baby Max in 2007. When Max was born, things just seemed to bother Crystal more. She seemed to worry about everything. We tried to reassure her, but that was Crystal, the worrier.

On Feb 25, 2008, we got together with her and her husband, Chris, for lunch. Everything seemed fine. On Feb 27, 2008 at 11:45 AM, Mary received a call from the police concerning a family emergency at Crystal’s house. As we raced the few blocks to her house, I feared the worse. Did baby Max, not yet four months old, die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? I begged: God please let Max be OK!

As we rounded the corner and their house came into view, there were police cars in the streets and driveway. A detective who was polite, but uninformative, stopped Mary and I from entering the house. As I turned back to the street, I noticed Chris holding baby Max. Knowing that Hannah was in school, I asked him what was going on. With a dazed look in his eyes he told us that Crystal had shot and killed herself.

She had seemed unusually worried the past few days, always fussing about Max, unable to get a good night’s sleep. Attempting to breast feed as long as possible, she was concerned that her milk was drying up. We didn’t notice the symptoms of what we later learned was, Postpartum Depression. We just thought that was Crystal, always worrying.

Over a year has now passed. We have all pulled together and gotten into the routine of helping Chris raise Hannah, his precocious first grade daughter, and Max, a handsome boy of sixteen months. I have volunteered to give Max his 06:00 AM feeding five days a week. This occupied my time and kept my mind off of Crystal. Mary would come over at 07:15 and get Hannah ready for school. In the morning commotion, Chris would wolf down some cereal, and if the kids were up, give them a kiss, and out the door he’d go, grateful for us being there.

It is amazing how we live assumptive lives. Every day, we assume our family will always be there. It’s not that we have taken them for granted it is just that no one ever expects to outlive their own child. I now appreciate the little things in life more. I love Max’s happy giggle every morning as I sing to him while changing his diaper. The joy experienced viewing Hannah’s beautiful sleepy face, when she rolls out of bed is unexplainable.

Mary and I took all four grand kids to a matinee the other day. After the movie, we stopped at Target to get them a snack. “We want the Kids $2.00 Hot Dog & Soda Special,” they yelled. Mary and I sat at a table across from them. As we ate, we enjoyed the view of our grandkids just being kids. I savored every second of hearing them laugh and watching them play as I finished my salad and hot dog. It was the best meal of my life.

Joseph and his family ask that you support The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act.  To do so, please go to www.perinatalpro.com. 

Susan Dowd Stone shares hopeful thoughts on the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS ACT

Susan Dowd Stone submitted the following article to EmpowHer yesterday and I want to help spread this info around because it's so crucial that this much-needed legislation gets passed. Please read below and click here to find out more about Susan and the tremendous work she is doing.

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Attention advocates of America’s mothers and the thousands of courageous women who are experiencing or who have survived a pregnancy or postpartum depression – you have not been forgotten. For among the significant challenges facing the 111th Congress, the issue of untreated maternal depression remains a top priority. One new Congressional focus is the rebuilding of national infrastructure. One might make the analogy that this should include enhancing the healthy infrastructure of our families by ending the preventable plague of maternal mood disorders which continues to ravage over 800,000 women – and their infants and families – every year. The long-term consequences of untreated maternal depression range from chronic illness, child learning disabilities, family stress and economic loss - to death.  

Congressman Bobby L. Rush has reintroduced The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act to the 111th Congress. During the 110th Congress, the legislation had over 130 bi-partisan cosponsors and passed the United States House of Representatives on October 15th, 2007 by a vote of 382-3. I was so very proud to be sitting in the Congressional Gallery on that triumphant day as a unified Congress validated the suffering of millions of American women and families by promising more support to help end this public health crisis. Congressman Rush never forgot the Chicago constituent – Melanie Blocker Stokes – who lost her life to this illness and whose tragic death inspired his decades long devotion to end maternal suffering.  

In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Robert Menendez has been similarly steadfast in his devotion and promotion of The MOTHERS Act. Initially based on New Jersey’s groundbreaking law inspired by PPD Survivor and former New Jersey First Lady Mary Jo Codey and spearheaded to passage by her husband N.J. State Senate President Richard Codey, the passage of this legislation has resulted in increased availability of services, public awareness campaigns and state-wide hot lines responsive to the crisis. While repeated attempts by Sen. Menendez and other senate leaders to pass the bill last fall narrowly missed, one pivotal result was that the national spotlight again became fixed on this incomprehensible Congressional stalemate. 

The resulting new waves of national attention and support for this bill and its clear, purposeful mission have further galvanized public support and public outcry for its passage. The research, education, public awareness campaigns and grants for treatment and supportive services requested in The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act will help to end the untold agony that too often goes unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. 

The countless women who walk through my practice door feeling shamed and marginalized for the medical illness they are trying to fight alone must know that these common disorders can afflict anyone - that these illness are treatable - that they did nothing to cause it - that they will be well again! That they are NOT ALONE!  

As president-elect Barack Obama - one of the bill’s initial lead sponsors – takes the nation’s helm this week, we anticipate a timely convergence of forces which will lend impetus to the bill’s passage this year.  

In addition to our legislative leaders, many thanks to all of you who have given voice and time and energy to turn this tide on the ignorance and suffering that has plagued American mothers and their families for decades – your moment is coming. With your renewed support and advocacy, we will pass The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act in 2009!  

SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION Section 1: Short title of the bill- The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act.  

TITLE I- Research  

• Encourages HHS to coordinate and continue research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and find treatments for, postpartum conditions. Also, encourages a National Public Awareness Campaign, to be administered by HHS, to increase awareness and knowledge of postpartum depression and psychosis.  

• Sense of Congress that the Director of the NIH may conduct a nationally representative longitudinal study of the relative mental health consequences for women of resolving a pregnancy (intended or unintended) in various ways, including carrying the pregnancy to term and parenting the child, carrying the pregnancy to term and placing the child for adoption, miscarriage, and having an abortion. This study may assess the incidence, timing, magnitude, and duration of the immediate and long-term mental health consequences (positive and negative) of these pregnancy outcomes. 

TITLE II- Delivery of Services 

• Encourages HHS to make grants available for projects for the establishment, operation, and coordination of systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with postpartum depression. (Entities): Makes grants available to public or nonprofit private entity, which may include a State or local government, a public-private partnership, a recipient of a grant under the Healthy Start program, a public or nonprofit private hospital, community-based organization, hospice, ambulatory care facility, community health center, migrant health center, public housing primary care center, or homeless health center, or any other appropriate public or nonprofit private entity. o (Activities): Eligible activities include delivering or enhancing outpatient, inpatient and home-based health and support services, including case management and comprehensive treatment services for individuals with or at risk for postpartum conditions. Activities may also include providing education about postpartum conditions to new mothers and their families, including symptoms, methods of coping with the illness, and treatment resources, in order to promote earlier diagnosis and treatment.  

TITLE III- General Provisions 

• (Funding): Authorizes $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2009 and 2010.  

• (HHS Report): Requires the Secretary of HHS to conduct a study on the benefits of screening for postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  

• (Limitation): The Secretary may not utilize amounts made available under this Act to carry out activities or programs that are duplicative of activities or programs that are currently being carried out through the Dept of HHS.  

SUPPORTERS: Postpartum Support International Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses American Psychological Association American Psychiatric Association Children’s Defense Fund American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists March of Dimes Mental Health America American College of Nurse Midwives National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Suicide Prevention Action Network USA National Alliance on Mental Illness Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs National Partnership for Women & Families OWL- The Voice of Midlife and Older Women National Women’s Law Center

Susan Dowd Stone comments on the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act

I know I've written before on The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act that is now before the US Senate, but really, there can't be enough said about this all-important legislation.

Susan Dowd Stone, President of Postpartum Support International, provided the below statement about the bill. She brilliantly covers the important aspects of the bill and why we desperately need it to be passed. Please feel free to comment or offer questions about the bill and I will get them to her to respond to you.

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While we await positive action from our nation’s legislators on The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act , questions arise. Some have wondered why we need a federal bill in place when we have so many well known organizations and individuals devoted to ending the ignorance of pregnancy related mood disorders. Hasn’t this issue received enough attention these past three years? With all the media, famous advocates and well respected leaders speaking out, the growing science and research substantiating the seriousness of untreated maternal depression – aren’t we done? Aren’t many thousands more people now aware of postpartum depression, thanks to the CBS Cares public service campaign, news stories on every major and local network, the power of the blogosphere, conferences, state’s responses and organizations like PSI, EmpowHer and many others? And aren’t there now more services and treatment options available as mothers face what is often the fight of their life?

NO. We are barely beyond the starting line.

It’s true we now have two states out of 50 with legislation on the books strongly encouraging screening, education for consumers and healthcare providers and services for new mothers. Many other states are in the process of developing programs thanks to the tireless efforts of grassroots organizations and advocates who have decided that lives will not be lost on their watch by the devastation of untreated maternal depression. But their sustainability is uncertain and often depends on the generosity of donors and foundations besieged with requests for funding. We now have one or maybe two hospitals in the whole country where women can seek treatment with their infants and avoid the damaging and often unnecessary separations when intense services are required.

We need a federal response because research and education .. not geography... should determine what services will be consistently available to all American mothers. And that is exactly the goal that The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act (TMBSMA) intends to initiate.

There is nothing in TMBSMA that suggests mandates for anything.. no conspiracy to medicate moms, take away children - its modest request for funding streamlines the focus of its initiatives - READ THE SUMMARY and see for yourself. This truly bipartisan effort is about research education and provision of services for long suffering moms who have not had such access in the past and disgracefully still don't. Currently only 15% of afflicted mothers will ever receive any treatment.

Treatment can take many forms including social support, consumer education, better nutrition and self care, therapy, and sometimes medication. No choice should ever be discouraged - each women's experience is as unique as her life, and her recovery plan should reflect all available options! To cast aspersions or imply weakness when medication is warranted for recovery is like telling a diabetic woman she should be ashamed of taking her insulin.

We routinely screen - without any public outcry - for many other pregnancy related conditions whose incidence is less than the up to 20% of mothers (that's 800,000 without counting women who miscarry or whose babies are stillborn) who may develop a serious mood disorder this year!

There is a long list of other illnesses - including breast cancer - which appear less frequently among American women, but which generate appropriate and unquestioned societal, legislative and healthcare response. But we do not consistently and routinely ask the right questions of pregnant and postpartum women. The difference is the stigma of mental illness.

Research continues to point to early brain development in the neonate as exquisitely sensitive to its environment – an environment whose quality largely depends on the health and abilities of its mother. In no other illness is the fate and future health of one innocent so closely tied to the present health and abilities of another. So we can pretty much double the number of those directly affected by pregnancy related mood disorders without argument. The statistics of those afflicated will continue to rise in numbers completely disproportionate to our abysmal response.
Perhaps when further research on long term societal, family and psychological effects finally translates into economic loss, this destroyer of our motherhood's expected joy will finally receive the attention needed to end truly needless suffering. The irony is that here's one condition where PRIMARY PREVENTION, i.e. methods to reduce the incidence and effects...is entirely possible. By our avoidance and refusal to implement a national, prosocial and adequate response we pay many times over for such ignorance... and those who pay the most are our most vulnerable citizens.

One can only incredulously wonder why on earth there would be any objection to federal encouragement and support for the research, education and services needed to end the loss of lives and incalculable suffering. Federal support means everyone is on notice to get up to speed. Federal support means the services are available to the many, not just the few. And federal support and acknowledgement means the beginning of the end of stigma.

The reality of maternal mental illness is a fact which cannot be challenged. The battle could go on another ten years depending on our demands of our elected officials to end a public health crisis. But while constituents remain inert about taking action, while we split hairs over definitions,form camps about what treatment is best, allow our legislators to politicize the problem and take aim at each other instead of the issue, suffering is prolonged for those too ill to participate in the calls for help.

Bills are passed for new roads while mothers experience unfathomable despair. Bills are passed for bicycle helmets while the partners of such mothers initiate a desperate search for help. Bills are passed for mortgage relief and campaign finance reform while babies cry alone.

Women are the majority of voters and our children are held up as the future of our country yet we are often silent for ourselves and our children - unused to the direct solicitation of our opinion as one that deeply matters and which can shape future policy. We are often too quickly grateful for any consideration received instead of demanding what is truly needed. The transformative magnificence of the internet is that it offers busy mothers and those who love them - a path to power, an internet megaphone, a virtual march on Washington, and the facilitation of unity despite the distracted isolation of daily demands.

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Here is a summary of the bill. Please check it out and let everyone you know about this important legislation that we need to work together to make sure it's passed.