Here’s an actual text of a communication being sent far and wide by the very loud and vociferous opposition to the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act to support increased funding, education and research for postpartum depression:

“This MOTHER’S Act, with its innocuous sounding name will mandate “mental screening” for Pregnant women. This will lead to many more young mothers being labeled with fraudulent psychiatric conditions and many of them will be put on dangerous psychiatric drugs even while they are still pregnant. This is already happening in some states such as New Jersey with the state legislature previously passed a similar bill.

With your help, we were able to stop this Federal bill dead in its tracks last year, but the drug lobby apparently never sleeps and they got it through the House of Representatives.

Now we need some fast action from thousands of doctors and patients across the country – in the form of phone calls and faxes to their US Senators to stop this bill from passing in the Senate …”

Let’s be very, very clear. There are some people who, for whatever reason, have decided to convince others that the singular purpose of the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act is to line the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies and drug our nation’s mothers. If you think they aren’t calling their senators and Congresspeople you are mistaken. They are very convicted in their feelings and they call way more than we do.

If you believe what they are saying is true, then I’m not sure why you’d be reading this blog. Because chances are, if you read this blog, you know for a fact, as sure as death and taxes, that there is nothing “fraudulent” about postpartum depression or anxiety, postpartum OCD, postpartum psychosis, or depression and anxiety during pregnancy. I find that deeply, completely insulting.

I’m not sure what is so difficult to accept about the idea that women who are ill with real illnesses need help and we need our society to take more responsibility to help them, starting with the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act. Period. End of story.

Have these people not seen the research? Do they not know that women with untreated postpartum depression can go on to have chronic depression for the rest of their lives? Do they not know that women with untreated depression during pregnancy are twice as likely to have pre-eclampsia, twice as likely to have a C-section, twice as likely to have a preterm delivery and twice as likely to have their baby go to NICU? Do they know the odds of developmental delay for children whose mother’s illness goes on and on and on and on? Do they not know that suicide as a result of postpartum mood disorders is the leading cause of death for women postpartum in the US?

You can sit by on the sidelines and watch them win, just like they say they did last year when the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act was not passed. You can say I signed that DBSA petition last year so I’m not doing it again. You can decide that your voice doesn’t count. You can let them convince the rest of the world that the MOTHERS Act is a conspiracy to drug the mothers of the world. You can say I have too many other things to worry about. You can say they’re just the fringe and that no one pays attention to them, but you’d be wrong.

I’m asking you not to. Please do not allow more women and children to suffer when it’s no longer necessary. I don’t care if you’ve never had PPD and it’s not on your radar screen. Healthy women, healthy children and health families should be on everyone’s radar screen.

Here are ways to take action:

• Go to the DBSA and sign the petition.
• E-mail Susan Stone at susanstonelcsw@aol.com and put your name on the state-by-state list of people who endorse this bill.
• Call and write your senator or Congressperson
• Write about the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act in your blog.
• Call or e-mail every one of your organization’s members today and tell them to get up and get to work for goodness sake.
• Join Postpartum Support International as it works to create more and better services and education for the women who suffer.

The emotional health of approximately 1 million American families each year depends on this.

Because honestly, if we can’t get this one bill passed, how are we going to tackle the much bigger task of helping every single woman with a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder who needs help in this country? How are we going to create funding for transportation and child care for women who can’t get to their doctors because they have no car and no babysitter? How are we going to develop a network of highly trained, effective health care providers who are willing to treat women with no insurance? How are we going to fund more research to find out the exact causes of these illnesses so we can develop better, more targeted treatments? How are we going to make sure there are support groups in every corner of this country, no matter how urban or how rural? How are we going to educate doctors on preventing these illnesses in the first place by conducting social histories of their patients before they get pregnant?

This bill has been seven years in the making. In those seven years, how much unnecessary devastation has been suffered?

Every time the media, whether entertainment or news, chooses to cover perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, the portrayal is always of some out-of-control woman committing or attempting to commit infanticide. They NEVER represent the fact that 99.99% of women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (including PPD and psychosis) NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do anything to harm a hair on their infants’ heads. That all of them are very good and loving mothers who simply have an illness that requires treatment. They never represent the fact that there is so much more to these illnesses and that postpartum depression is very common and treatable. They make it seem like every mom who does have postpartum psychosis ends up killing their child.

In the name of getting more viewers for “Private Practice,” ABC and the shows producers have irresponsibly represented perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and potentially traumatized HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of new mothers. Just ask yourself how many husbands, family members and friends who saw the show are looking at the new moms around them today wondering whether they’re capable of murder? Just ask yourself how many moms are not going to reach out for treatment because they now think their babies will be taken away as the character’s was?

There were so many things wrong with the storyline that I don’t know where to begin. The symptoms the mother presented could have been postpartum depression (feeling overwhelmed, having problems sleeping), postpartum anxiety (constant worries about the baby) or psychosis (mania, hearing her baby crying — which at first indication seemed like she was hallucinating but then the mom actually finds the baby in the lobby and it IS crying). Every mom who saw the show with any of these symptoms potentially now sees herself as psychotic, which is most likely not the case. And even if she is psychotic, she can get treatment and recover and move on. . Violet, the therapist on the show played by Amy Brenneman, may be one of the worst ever to practice therapy on the planet. She displays very little knowledge of these illnesses and how to treat them in both her words and deeds, and she shows more concern for herself than the client. She lets her own personal problems completely interfere with the treatment of her patient. Her line “She could snap her neck” almost gave me a complete heart attack. I can’t share with you the string of swear words I used at that utterance. As one of my son’s storybooks says: I’m 10 X 10 furious, which is 100% furious.

As the PR Chair for Postpartum Support International, it was my responsibility to write the text of ABC’s public service announcement. I happily did so because I was excited about the opportunity to educate millions of people, and I wrote it about postpartum depression because that is the direction I was given. Had I been given more truthful information up front, I could have written something completely different and more appropriate to the episode. Since I didn’t, the PSA just continues to blur the lines between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis as if they are one in the same.

To make things worse, despite Postpartum Support International being informed it would happen, there was NO message at the end of the show offering a link to ABC’s website and the public service announcement. This means viewers were completely unaware they could go to the “Private Practice” section of ABC.com and get the PSI web address and phone number to get more information and support. I checked twice, using my TIVO to go through the end of the show frame by frame in case the message flipped by fast and I missed it. They did have enough time, I notice, to inform me that the show’s costume designer was Cynthia Bergstrom and that the department head hair stylist was Gwyne Redner. I guess it was more important to use that time to promote next week’s crossover episodes between “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice.”

To make things EVEN worse, the “Private Practice” website now has a poll with the following question: “Should a woman undergoing psychiatric treatment after nearly drowning her child be allowed to see the baby?” Possible answers: Yes, it will motivate her to get better or No, She can’t be trusted right now. Gee, I wonder how the public will respond … Fortunately, as of now, the poll shows more people answering Yes, but that’s only because I and all my colleagues have been rushing to the site to answer it. Does ABC think that poll is particularly helpful? Was that part of its strategy to help others and destigmatize these illnesses?

Additionally, the show’s Medical Researcher’s Blog, written by Moira McMahon, does a fairly lousy job of explaining postpartum psychosis, and doesn’t mention any of the other illnesses in the perinatal mood and anxiety disorder spectrum and how they may be different, or even how rare psychosis is. At the end of her post, she writes:

“But should a woman who almost drowned her baby have access to her child?

And how did her husband miss her mental illness?

What would you do?”

Wow. That goes a long way in eliminating stigma. Or helping people understand the treatability of these illnesses. Or helping husbands know what signs to look for. Or helping new mothers feel safe in reaching out for help.

There’s no point in complaining to ABC about it — they’ll just say it was out of their control, they tried, there was no space, time, etc. I know how it works. I’ve worked at a Fortune 100 corporation — it’s always easier to beg for forgiveness after the fact than to do what you should. If I did complain directly, they’d argue that at least they covered the topic and that they did put together the 22-second PSA featuring actress Amy Brenneman (standing in a corner) on their site which they didn’t have to do. That is true. But it doesn’t excuse the fact that it was possible to do this entire thing much more responsibly. They could have listened to admonitions to please not do the show on postpartum psychosis. They could have consulted true experts on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders to get it right. They could have aired the link to the PSA that they promised. If you say you want to help others, why not follow through on it 100 percent?

Just as I stopped going to Tom Cruise movies, I will not watch “Private Practice” ever again. In fact, I may stop watching my favorite ABC show “Grey’s Anatomy” and switch over to NBC which has equally compelling shows in the 9pm EST time slot (“The Office” and “30 Rock”). I ask you to please join me to PULL THE PLUG ON PRIVATE PRACTICE. C’mon ladies and gents, use your voices.

And, no, I’m not overreacting, and here’s why: We have to start somewhere. We have to stand up at some point and let the media know the way they treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and mental illness in general, is unacceptable. We have to tell them that the power they have to influence and move others is much too enormous to be improperly used. We have to make sure the information that moms and moms-to-be receive is correct and measured and encourages them to get the treatment they need. We have a responsibility to help the infants in our country have healthy mothers. If we don’t make our feelings known loud and clear nothing will ever change. We owe it to many millions of women who will suffer perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the next decade.

If you plan to stop watching “Private Practice”, email me at stonecallis@msn.com or visit Postpartum Progress. I also encourage you to write about this on your own blogs and use the tag “Pull the Plug on Private Practice.”

Here are some other bloggers’ takes on this:

Susan Stone at Perinatal Pro: “ABC’s Private (Mal)Practice Fails to Present the Facts In a Botched Opportunity to Raise PPD Awareness”:
“Postpartum psychosis is extremely rare with incidence less than 2% and was not accurately presented in this three ring circus. The implication that postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are interchangeable labels is incredibly irresponsible.

But the show’s mothers weren’t the only target of ignorance and blatant indifference to client care. The show also managed to insult every health care professional associated with the mother’s illness. The therapist came off as a clueless, self-absorbed nut case who failed to advocate for her client …”

Lauren Hale at Unexpected Blessing: “ABC’s Private Practice Misses the Mark”
“Then Violet didn’t want to give the baby back to the mother for fear that THEY would be the ones thought of as “what were you thinking!?” We work SO hard to fight against the myth that a mother’s baby will be taken from her if she seeks help. I can’t help but think about how many new moms saw this show and may possibly avoid seeking help because of this portrayal.”

Amber at Beyond Postpartum: “Does ABC Care?”:
“WHY did Rachel have to hold the baby under the bathwater when she fell? … This was a great opportunity to go down a different path. To talk about something more common and educate a population of Americans who are VERY unsympathetic and completely filled with rage. Below each and every national media article about postpartum psychosis you see hundreds of comments from angry people who do not understand postpartum mood disorders. They chastise the women who suffer and offer no sympathy. They make statements like, “How could she do this to a helpless child? She was not sick, she was just selfish.” Those of us who have suffered or know someone who did know better. But look people, MOST Americans are not educated and need to be. Let’s utilize the means that we have to help them to learn…to understand…to see the full story and to find their way to a place where in America routine screening, referral and treatment are no longer options but mandatory steps in the postpartum period.

I think ABC lost an opportunity here to shed light on a real and prevalent illness for their selfish desire to get ratings and viewers from the more dramatic and interesting spin that just one aspect of the story elicited. Oh well. At least it got people talking about PPMDs.”

NOTE: This post represents my views only, not those of the board of Postpartum Support International.

The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act won’t be the final answer when it comes to helping all women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It’s just a start, but one that is desperately needed. I hate that we even need the government to get involved in order to get these illnesses the proper attention, but that is the current situation. Perinatal mental health just isn’t on the radar screen when compared to other mental health issues or other women’s health issues. It’s not even anywhere near the radar, or the room where the radar is held.

The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act will require more research, create a grant program for the delivery of services and encourage a public awareness campaign. I hope, when finally passed, it is properly funded so it doesn’t end up a smokescreen in the fight to help new mothers.

Fingers crossed.

“After two intense years of campaign ups and downs for both major U.S. political parties, the nation has finally settled on a president. Although initially, Obama’s victory brings celebrations for supporters, experts say the let-down that voters of each side may feel after the campaign is akin to postpartum depression.”

My computer tracks down most mentions of postpartum depression on the web for me (thank you Google!) and I can’t tell you how often I see someone write that they’ve got “PPD” after they finish a big project. I know what they’re trying to say, but at the same time it feels to me as if it diminishes the seriousness of what we go through. If they really had PPD, boy-oh-boy would they know it, and they wouldn’t rattle it off so offhandedly as if it were a case of the common cold. Perhaps what they’re suffering is loss. But postpartum depression?

ATTENTION, all media people: Here’s a newsflash. PPD is not simply a feeling of “let-down” or “being “a little off.” It’s a very serious and devastating illness. It can negatively impact sleeping and eating. It can cause nonstop crying, sadness, isolation and withdrawal from everything you used to enjoy. Women with PPD have feelings of guilt, shame and hopelessness. They have problems bonding with their babies. They can lose the ability to concentrate or focus. Some consider suicide.

Simply being bummed out or feeling aimless after an election or a school paper or major business project or competition is over is not exactly the same thing as postpartum depression. There are women who don’t seek treatment because they don’t recognize how serious this illness is. Let’s not minimize it even further and normalize it to the point that even more choose to continue to needlessly suffer rather than reach out for help.

(crossposted at Postpartum Progress)

An all-star concert kicks off the two-day event at the Heart of Texas Fairground GE Building in Waco at 7pm on November 2nd. The concert will feature Wade Bowen, as well as Cross Canadian Ragweed and Stoney LaRue. More “surprise” guests will be announced in the coming weeks. The golf tournament the next day will be a two-man scramble and will take place at the beautiful Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.

“I’m so proud of how this event has grown and how everyone has come together to raise so much money,” said Bowen. “This year we are partnering with PSI, which hits really close to home for me because my wife battled postpartum depression after the birth of our first child, and I know how severely it can affect families. Believe me when I tell you that it is a cause that needs more awareness.”

Bowen recently released his new album “If We Ever Make It Home” featuring the song “Turn on the Lights,” which he wrote about his family’s personal experience with postpartum depression.

Tickets for both components of the weekend are available and start at $15. Over the past two years, the Bowen Classic has raised nearly $60,000. For questions regarding sponsorship or group ticket rates, please contact “Big Hearted Babes.”

You’re probably saying to yourselves “This is NOT Dr. John Grohol. I detect a Southern accent.” Very intuitive.

My name is Katherine Stone and I write Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog in the U.S. on perinatal mood disorders, including postpartum depression, antepartum depression, postpartum OCD and postpartum psychosis. For some reason, Dr. Grohol has seen fit to give me the keys to his blog. Before he changes his mind, I thought I’d sneak in and talk to you while I had the chance …

The timing of my post is very important. Later this week, the United States Senate may be voting on the Advancing America’s Priorities Act. This package of bills, introduced by Senator Harry Reid this morning, includes the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, which would fund increased research into the causes of perinatal mood disorders, better training of healthcare providers and more public awareness. I can’t tell you how important this is.

Of the 800,000 women in the U.S. who get postpartum depression each year, only 10% of them are ever diagnosed and treated. As I wrote on my blog today, we know from research that untreated perinatal mood disorders are a serious public health threat –they can lead to chronic depression in the mother, behavioral problems in the child and stress-related health problems in both. This is an enormous financial cost to our health system and even bigger social cost to our families and communities now and into the future. It will continue on perpetually until we break the cycle and take the lead to proactively educate pregnant mothers, conduct more research and train our doctors. I know this because I am the child of a mother who went through PPD. Her mother, my grandmother, had it as well, and I suffered postpartum OCD myself. I also know because I hear from hundreds of women across the country who read Postpartum Progress and send me emails about their terrible experiences and the lack of knowledge shown by many in the healthcare community.

If you’d like to help, please visit the Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance’s Advocacy in Action Alert and send a letter right now to tell the U.S. Senate to pass this bill. Along with DBSA, it is supported by Postpartum Support International, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses, the March of Dimes, Mental Health America, the Suicide Prevent Action Network, the Children’s Defense Fund, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and many others.

Not every mother gets PPD. But the ones who do need and deserve effective help. And just so you know, the bill does not advocate any specific treatment for perinatal mood disorders and neither do I. What I care about is mothers recovering as quickly as possible so they can have healthy relationships with their children, regardless of whether it’s via therapy, meds, a combination of both or some other method.

I hope you will support those of us who go through this and speak up. Thanks for listening.