Yes, the first blog action event of the BlogHers Act initiative is happening today: Blog Day for The MOTHERS Act, which we are co-sponsoring along with Postpartum Progress and Postpartum Support International.
What does it entail?
Call your senators today!!
Blog it!!
Add your link to the growing list at BlogHer.
What is all this about?
Up to 800,000 women in the U.S. will develop a diagnosable perinatal mood disorder this year! (This does not include women whose babies are stillborn, who miscarry or suffer pregnancy termination). Yet only 15% of these women will receive any treatment. We need to do a better job screening, educating and treating our nation's mothers! The MOTHERS Act addresses these concerns and offers the common sense and needed remedies of screening, education, provision of services and research. Thanks to your efforts it will not go unnoticed! Let's move this out of the HELP committee and into the full senate!!
Who shall I call? What shall I say? Are those your questions?
That's where Postpartum Support International comes in. They'll even tell you if your Senator has already stepped up to co-sponsor the legislation.
The list of links is growing...add your voice to the chorus asking for this legislation to be put to a vote in the Senate and passed.
Thank you so much for writing about Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act. I hope you will continue to encourage your readers to call their Senators throughout the rest of the week, as I hear that the phone lines were pretty busy today. Every single call is SO important. Thanks again for your support of women with postpartum depression!
Posted by: Katherine Stone | October 24, 2007 at 05:22 PM
Thanks for helping to spread the word. The good news is that postpartum depression is a treatable – and in some cases—preventable illness. The MOTHERS Act will help us to educate new mothers, their families, and their caregivers so that women suffering from PPD can get the help they need and deserve.
Posted by: Ruta Nonacs, MD | October 25, 2007 at 09:39 AM
Thanks for your support of the MOTHERS Act. Too often postpartum depression is a problem that goes unnoticed, and most women with PPD never receive any type of treatment. PPD is a treatable illness, and it is essential that we continue to educate ourselves and others about this important issue.
For more information on PPD, visit us at The MGH Center for Women's Mental Health.
Posted by: MGH Center for Womens Mentalh Health | October 28, 2007 at 08:05 PM