Postpartum Support International in Partnership with BlogHer and Postpartum Progress Announce Blog Day for The MOTHERS Act, October 24, 2007

(PRWEB) October 7, 2007 -- Postpartum Support International, the world's 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, the leading blog in the U.S. on postpartum mood disorders, 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 24, 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 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. 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

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