doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still contact your Senator to urge their support of The MOTHER’S Act. Call, write, email – let your Senator know how you feel about this bill and what a positive effect it would have for all women who suffer so needlessly and desperately from this illness.
I am proud to say that I called the Georgia Senators today to urge their support of the Mother’s Act, bill s 1375. I will paste what I wrote up to say to them (which ended up being a guideline and was not read word for word once I got on the phone)
I will say that Sen. Chambliss’ office actually listened to what I had to say and seemed more open to my story. Sen. Isakson’s office didn’t even let me get past barely mentioning the bill before they thanked me for the call and hung up. Guess I’ll have to email him.
Here’s the “script” I used:
Hello this is Lauren Hale, one of the Senator’s constituents from GA. I am calling to ask the Senator to co-sponsor The MOTHERS Act bill number S. 1375, sponsored by Senator Menendez, which will provide funding for research, education, screening and treatment of postpartum depression. 800,000 new US mothers will be diagnosed with a Postpartum Disorder this year yet only 120,000 of them will receive treatment leaving 680,000 new moms suffering without the support of the medical community. This is a gap we cannot afford to ignore any longer. If you have a moment, I’d like to share with you my reason for urging the Senator’s support of this important bill.In continued honour of mental illness awareness week, I am posting the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Scale) here at Sharing the Journey. It is one of the standard screening tools for new mothers – and is not used often enough by practioners here in the States.
If you are a new mother experiencing problems or know a new mother who is, please use this self screening tool or pass it on to someone who needs to use it by printing it for them. This particular version was found at www.wellmother.com.
Instructions for users:
Name: _______________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________
Baby’s Age: __________________
As you have recently had a baby, we would like to know how you are feeling. Please UNDERLINE the answer which comes closest to how you have felt IN THE PAST 7 DAYS, not just how you feel today.
Response categories are scored 0, 1, 2, and 3 according to increased severity of the symptoms. Items marked with an asterisk are reverse cored (i.e. 3, 2, 1, and 0). The total score is calculated by adding together the scores for each of the ten items. Users may reproduce the scale without further permission providing they respect copyright by quoting the names of the authors, the title and the source of the paper in all reproduced copies.
As so named by NAMI FaithNet, today is the National Day of Prayer for those with Mental Illness. In honour of this day, I’d like to post the prayer NAMI has listed at their site. Take a moment to remember all who struggle with mental illness – whether it be PPD, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, or any of the other disorders that exist today. Pray thankfully that there is treatment available, pray desperately that the stigma be removed so more can open up and have the treatment available to them. To suffer from a mental illness is a dark place in which to be… pray that those who suffer and their families/caregivers may see the light and hope they so desperately need.
Prayer: Margaret Ann Holt, UMC
O, God, we gather here together today, as people from many different faith communities. We come before You, remembering all those persons whose lives have been touched by mental illnesses. We give thanks for those persons here who have given of their time and talents to do what they are able to help persons who are dealing with mental illnesses in their lives and in the lives of their families and friends. We give thanks for the improvement in medication and treatment programs that have enabled persons with mental illnesses to live productive lives. We pray that our society would do everything possible to make early diagnosis and treatment a standard operating procedure. We pray and ask that stigma be removed, so that persons and their families would get the appropriate help as soon as symptoms appear. Guide each one of us, and help us, as we endeavor to bring help and hope to those families and individuals.
We remember in our prayers those persons with mental illnesses who need to obtain access to their prescribed medications, treatment services, and counseling in the Gulf coast states where Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left devastation in their wake. We remember in our prayers all those who are in mental health crisis as a result of the horrible experiences they had during the storms and the devastation they experienced following the storms. We pray that our nation can respond in a timely and humanitarian way to this urgent mental health care need. We pray that in our own local communities, we can provide the appropriate health care for mind, body, and spirit to enable individuals to be on their journey of Recovery. Amen
Read in unison:
The faith community says to those people who suffer from the symptoms of mental illness, and to their family members:
We will walk with you. And God walks with you. You will not go through this alone.
Pray in unison:
O Lord, you have searched us and known us
You know when we sit down and when we rise up,
and know our innermost thoughts.
You search out our paths and know all our ways.
Before we speak, you know our words.
When we were knit together in our mother’s womb
You knew us as woman, as child, as man.
Wherever we go, Your hand will lead us.
So guide us along the pathways to hope,
that night becomes bright as day.
So lead us on our walk together,
that darkness is lifted from our hearts.
So encourage us that our sisters and brothers
Who have mental illness shall know that
they never walk alone.
Amen
POSTPARTUM SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL
in partnership with
BlogHer and Postpartum Progress announce
BLOG DAY FOR THE MOTHERS ACT, OCTOBER 24, 2007
Bloggers across the country encouraged to call their U.S. Senator on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 in support of The MOTHERS Act
Postpartum Support International, the world largest non-profit organization devoted to the support of perinatal mental health, has joined forces with BlogHer, the web’s number one guide to women bloggers and Postpartum Progress to galvanize support for the passage of The MOTHERS Act – The Moms Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act. On Wednesday, October 24th, bloggers across the country will write about taking action on this critical legislation by placing calls to their state’s senators urging sponsorship and support of The MOTHERS Act.
The MOTHERS Act, sponsored by U.S. Senators Robert Menendez, (D-NJ) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) will ensure that new moms and their families are educated about PPD, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services. It will also increase research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression.
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 health care 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.
Postpartum depression is a serious and disabling condition that affects up to 20 percent of new mothers – 800,000 American women each year. Yet only 15 percent of these women will receive any assessment or treatment .Untreated, consequences of maternal mood disorders range from chronic, disabling depression to death. Consequences of untreated maternal depression on infants/children range from behavioral and learning disabilities to depression and death.
Susan Dowd Stone, president of Postpartum Support International states “The good news is that perinatal mood disorders are preventable and easily treated once detected. The MOTHERS Act legislation is key because its initiatives are preventive, educational and treatment oriented. PSI urges you to participate in this important campaign.
Lisa Stone, BlogHer Co-founder and CEO, said “The BlogHer community has chosen Global Health as the focus for our year-long blogging activism initiative, BlogHers Act. Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act is exactly the kind of project where BlogHer’s community can make a difference on legislation that will save women’s lives.
Katherine Stone, author of the Posptartum Progress blog, adds “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.”
Postpartum Support International is the world’s largest nonprofit organization offering support, referrals, education, training, and resources to health care providers, women, and families coping with perinatal mood disorders. With coordinators in 49 states and 29 countries around the world, PSI is well-positioned to continue its mission of eradicating perinatal mental illness in every community worldwide. Thousands of women and concerned family members call our national warm line each year, attend our annual conference for healthcare providers and consumers, and visit our website to find local resources and support. PSI’s website www.postpartum.net and warmline 1-800-944-4773.
BlogHer , founded in February 2005 as a labor of love by three bloggers, BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. Today BlogHer provides the number-one community for and guide to blogs by women, via annual conferences, a Web network (http://blogher.com), and an advertising network of more than 800 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates (http://blogherads.com). BlogHer Inc. is majority-owned by three co-founders and has backing from Venrock (http://venrock.com).
Postpartum Progress (http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com) is the most widely-read blog in the United States on postpartum mood disorders, which include postpartum depression, postpartum OCD/anxiety and postpartum psychosis. It is authored by Katherine Stone, who suffered postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder with the birth of her son in 2001 and is now an advocate for women with these illnesses. Stone’s articles on PPD have appeared in such places as Newsweek and www.womenshealth.gov, a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website. She is also a guest editor on the topic of postpartum depression at BlogHer, and has appeared on CNN.com, Yahoo! and E! News Online.
For additional inquiries, please call (201) 567-5596 or email susanstonelcsw@aol.com