With my first baby, I dropped into a depression so deep that something tragic probably would have happened had I waited 24 more hours before going to the ER. I am one of the lucky ones. Not every mom with postpartum depression has as many options as I did. But how wonderful it would be if there were at least a couple more choices?
Thanks to a bill that has just been introduced into the U.S. Senate by Harry Reid, there is the possibility that more cash can be spent on research into motherhood-related mood disorders. Blogger Katherine Stone explains succinctly why everyone should care about these health issues: "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 -- yet 90 percent of all women who suffer are never treated."
Can you imagine another condition that has a 10 percent treatment rate? Yeah, me neither.
So take a minute and send a letter, write a blog post or otherwise spread the word. Thousands of crazy moms -- and I write this as one -- will thank you.
