A fortnightly guide to the deadly BS game over at Postpartum Progress aka population control blog

August 31, 2008

My Prediction: within the next three months, a woman from the Bedford area of Texas (very near to where I live) will kill herself or her baby as a result of the new intensive outpatient drugging for perinatal mood disorders program at

Hospital . Also, within the next three months I predict at least 10 babies will be born still at that hospital and there will be about 20 miscarriages from women going to the program.Note to doctors at Hospital's outpatient drugging of pregnant and postpartum women: how clueless and unethical do you have to be to keep your medical license?Find the sections here about "Warrior MOMS" and then go on over to those blogs and post a warning. You can use my youtube video if you want. That URL is: http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=LQW23XCmOCwhttp://www.postpartumprogress.typepad.com/August 28, 2008Washington Puts Out Great New PPD PSAsThe state of Washington has put together some public service announcements to support its "Speak Up When You're Down" campaign for public awareness of postpartum depression. They did a great job, and I love the fact that they used real women, not actors, who have gone through these illnesses. I'm proud to say that one of the stars of these ads is a reader of Postpartum Progress who saw the casting call on this site! Watch one of the ads here (fingers cross that this works!): Download council_for_children__families__speak_up_b__streaming.movPosted at 09:04 PM in Federal & State Policy, Postpartum Depression | Permalink | Comments (0)| TrackBack

(0)Technorati Tags: awareness, Council for Children and Families, Postpartum Progress, Speak Up When You're

Down, WashingtonWeekly Roundup of Warrior Mom StoriesI want to keep you Warrior Moms up on what is happening out there on the world wide web. So I'm going to start offering a weekly roundup of what women are writing about their experiences with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I won't be able to link to everyone, but when women write very open and honest and beautiful things I will try and put links to them here. I think it will help those who are suffering to see what their peers are saying, and it will also help the writers because we can reach out and give them a virtual hug. Here's this week's Postpartum Progress roundup:Here's at Letter 9 again, in a post called "In Which I Complain About How Much Postpartum Depression Sucks." I just love the way she describes her experience.Jen at GNMParents has had PPD with her three children and is wondering if she'll get it with her fourth, who is three months old. So far it hasn't happened, thankfully.Here's a post from Jenna at adoptionblogs.com about postpartum depression among women who have relinquished their

children. It's important to remember that women who adopt children, and women who give their children up for adoption, are all susceptible to postpartum depression.Janyce at What Shoes I Wear interviews , an artist, about her experience with PPD. I like how she talks about the fact that she did all the right things -- exercise, seeing friends, etc. -- and she still felt awful. Just because you do everything right doesn't mean you won't still feel bad. Posted at 08:16 PM in adoption, Postpartum Depression, Warrior Moms, Women Like Us |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: adoption, Jenna Hatfield, Stone, Letter 9, moms, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, stories, Warrior MomsCome See Me in Chicago at the Mudd Houghtaling Perinatal Depression Conference!Mercy Hospital & Medical Center is presenting the Mudd HoughtalingPerinatal Depression Conference at the University Club of Chicago on October 17, 2008. Continuing education credits are being provided by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the St. Xavier School of Nursing. Speakers include lots of fabulous people I am big fans of, including: Murdock, Executive Director of the Postpartum Resource Center of NYDr. Manny Alvarez, Chairman of the Dept. of Obstetrics at Hackensack University Medical School and Chief Health Editor for FOX NewsBirdie Meyer, President of PSI and coordinator of the Clarian Health Perinatal Mood Disorders ProgramDr. Lee Cohen, Director of the Reproductive Psychiatry Clinical Research Program at Massachusetts General HospitalDr. , Director of Clinical Services at the Dept. of Psychiatry of the University of Illinois at Chicago Parnham, whom you may recognize as Yates' lawyerThere will be other speakers as well, including me, which I'm very excited about. It's an honor to be invited to speak among all these people who know a whole lot more than I do. I hope to see some of you there!You can register online for this event at www.mercy-chicago.org/ppd/.ALSO: On November 6, the Mudd Houghtaling Postpartum Depression Foundation Benefit will be held at the Chicago History Museum. (I got married at the Chicago Historical Society, FYI. Great place.) The event will be held from 5:30 to 9pm and will raise money to support the foundation's programs. This year it will feature an interview with celebrated photographer Victor Skrebneski by Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Kogan. Tickets are $150 per person. To reserve tickets or get more info, please visit www.ppdchicago.orgor call 773-477-2252. Please reserve your tickets by October 31. This is a wonderful organization that deserves your support. Posted at 04:04 PM in Education & Training, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Depression,PPD Events | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Birdie Meyer, Dr. Manny Alvarez, Mudd Houghtaling Foundation, Stone, Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, Postpartum Progress, MurdockAugust 27, 2008Solace for Mothers Offers Two Online Communities for Birth TraumaJodi from PTSD After Childbirth has informed me that a new online community group has been started for the people around women who have experienced birth trauma. It is offered by Solace for Mothers and can be found athttp://www.solaceformothers.org/advocates-forum.html. They describe it as a safe landing space for family, friends and professionals to discuss their own experiences following unexpected birth outcomes. This is a public forum. Solace for Mothers also offers a private forum for mothers who have had challenging childbirths.Posted at 09:28 PM in birth trauma, Postpartum

PTSD, PPD Support Groups | Permalink |Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: birth trauma, Stone, Postpartum Progress, postpartum PTSD,traumatic

deliveryAugust 26, 2008National Library of Medicine Creates One-Stop Shop for Women's Health ResearchA new site was launched earlier this year by the National Library of Medicine to provide consumers with the latest information on significant topics in women's health research. I didn't even know there was a National Library of Medicine. These nice people have created a one-stop resource so that you won't have to visit a variety of websites, including PubMed, MedlinePlus and

ClinicalTrials.gov, to get the research info you're looking for. The Women's Health Resources site can be found athttp://sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/womenshealthoverview.html. Here's the specific women's mental health section:http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/womenshealthtopicsnlm.html#b011.Posted at 02:36 PM in Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Depression, Research | Permalink |Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Stone, National Library of Medicine, postpartum depression,Postpartum Progress, PubMed, Women's Health Resources siteAugust 24, 2008How to Use Postpartum ProgressPostpartum Progress has been rocking for four years now, and we have lots and lots of new readers and Warrior Moms, so I thought now would be a good time to give a refresher course on how to use this blog. Below is an outline of some of Postpartum Progress' key features:For Moms-to-Be & New Moms:I try to make sure and cover every illness in the

perinatal mood and anxiety disorder spectrum, so no matter what you're going through I hope you can find something here that gives you knowledge and comfort.The Pages section (on the left hand side of your screen, underneath my picture) includes several important resources: a list of support groups around the U.S. and Canada, a list of the top perinatal mood and anxiety disorder treatment programs in the U.S. and Canada, and a list of state and national organizations that offer a wide variety of local resources, services and information. All of these will be helpful to you on your journey to recovery. (Please note: Many of these organizations and groups have "postpartum" or "postpartum depression" in the name, but that doesn't mean they don't serve women with other illnesses. In fact, they are usually knowledgable of all illnesses across the spectrum and offer support services to everyone. It's just that postpartum depression is the most widely known of all the illnesses, so that's the name they use. The proper term for the entire spectrum is "perinatal mood and anxiety disorders" -- that pretty much covers us all.)The Readers' Favorites section (on the right hand side of your screen, directly under the ads) includes links to the most popular posts I've ever

written, based on reader feedback. These were the ones that struck a nerve or have been most helpful or comforting. I hope you'll feel the same way about them. Read Up (further down on the right hand side) features a wide variety of books on our illnesses. If you click on the book, it will take you directly to Amazon.com where you can learn about it, read reviews, and purchase it if you so choose.For Survivors of Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders, as well as Moms-to-Be & New Moms:Surviving & Thriving Mothers Photo Album -- This

fabulous photo album can be found on the right hand side of the home page screen, directly underneath Readers' Favorites. It features photos of women who have survived perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and their children. I hope it serves as an inspiration to everyone going through one of these illness by showing that, with treatment, you can be a happy and healthy mom. To add your photo, email me a jpeg tostonecallis@..., along with info on which illness you suffered, what year, and what state you live in. For Healthcare Pros:If you look in the Pages section on the left hand side, you'll see a link to theTools for Professionals page with a bit of helpful info specifically for you. Check it out. Plus, nearly every week I'm posting info on new research and on events that may be of interest to you. To find them, scroll down the left hand side of Postpartum Progress until you see the Categories section. Look under the categories of "Research" and "PPD Events" for that info. If there is something you want to share with me, please send it!For everyone:Subscribe (on the left hand side, underneath Pages) allows anyone who wishes to, to subscribe to Postpartum Progress. Just enter your email address and click "Subscribe me!", and you're a subscriber via Feedblitz. What does this mean? In the

morning, you will receive an email in your inbox with links to each post that I have written the previous day. This way you always know what's going on without having to remember to visit the Postpartum Progress site every day. FYI -- I have never, EVER shared the list of subscribers with anyone, so you won't be receiving unwanted email from anyone else. Also, if you should ever decide you don't want to receive the emails any more, you can easily unsubscribe.Search (way, WAY down on the left hand side) is a feature provided by Technorati. In the box, just enter the term you are looking for and click the "Search" button. The function will take you briefly to the Technorati site, where you will see a list of posts I've written related to the topic in which you are interested. Click on whatever one you wish to read and you'll be brought back to Postpartum

Progress to that specific post.The Listed On section (further down on the left) is simply a list of some of the places on the web that feature Postpartum Progress or have highly ranked it among all internet health sites. I'm very proud of those associations and happy to display my "blog bling".Posted at 02:00

AM in antepartum depression, Perinatal Mood Disorders, postnatal depression,postnatal illness, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Postpartum Psychosis, Postpartum PTSD | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: antepartum depression, blog,

Stone, postpartum depression,Postpartum Progress, Warrior MomsAugust 21, 2008News & Observer Covers NC PPD SupportHere's a nice story in the Raleigh News & Observer (NC) about Ann Wimer and her MomsSupportingMoms group for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. For more info on the group, visit www.perinatalwellness.com.Posted at 09:48 PM in Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, PPD Support Groups | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Ann Wimer, Center for Perinatal Emotional Wellness, Stone,MomsSupportingMoms, North Carolina, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, PPDVideos for Women with PPDDr. Shoshanna , past president of Postpartum Support International and author of Postpartum Depression for Dummies, now has some free videos available online for those suffering with perinatal mood & anxiety disorders. Here are links to a few of them, which reside at Empowher:Postpartum Depression & Lack of SleepPPD Help for WomenCan a Father Get Postpartum Depression?Does PPD Go Away By Itself?There are several others, so go check them out.Posted at 09:38 PM in Postpartum Depression | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Empowher, Stone, postpartum depression, Postpartum Depression for Dummies, Postpartum Progress, Shoshanna , videosTexas Hospital Launches Outpatient Treatment Program for PPD Methodist Springwood Hospital in Bedford, Texas, (Dallas/Ft. Worth area) has announced it has opened Texas' first hospital-based intensive outpatient program devoted to treating depression in women during childbearing and post-childbearing years.The Springwood Program for Women is a comprehensive program tailored to meet the needs of women struggling with pregnancy complications, postpartum depression, loss of a child, infertility, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, perimenopause and menopause. Services start this week at the Siratt Women's Center at Methodist and Arlington Memorial Hospital.The intensive program involves a time commitment of three hours per day and is designed to help women balance their treatment requirements with work, education and home-life schedules. The Springwood Program for Women offers morning and evening programs: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to noon, and Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 9pm. Patients can be referred to the center by a physician, therapist, EAP counselor or through self-referral. To reach the Arlington location, call 817-960-2499. To reach the Bedford location, call 817-355-7700. Or visit www.texashealth.org/springwood.Posted at 09:22 PM in hospitalization, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum

Depression |Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Arlington Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Methodist Springwood Hospital, outpatient, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, Texas, treatmentAugust 20, 2008Online Study of New Mothers' Sleep & Fatigue Needs ParticipantsCheryl Jazzar has shared with

me that Kathleen Kendall-Tackett and Hale, in conjunction with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, are conducting a new online survey about mothers' sleep and fatigue. The study is open to all mothers with babies 0-12 months old. They would like to include breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women, as well as women of all ethnicities and income levels. They hope to document:Where and how much babies sleepWhether mothers who breastfeed and co-sleep are more or less tired than mothers who don'tWhether mothers tell

their friends, relatives and healthcare providers where their babies sleepIf there are ethnic group differences in where babies sleepThe role of depression, psychological trauma and difficult birth in mother's ongoing daytime fatigueThe online questionnaire takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete and is confidential. Click here to participate: http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lactPosted at 01:36 PM in Research | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: co-sleeping, depression, fatigue, Stone, new mothers, Postpartum Progress, research, sleepUNC Hosting Women's Mood Disorders Symposium in NovemberThe University of North Carolina Center for Women's Mood Disorders will be hosting an informational symposium called "Depression Across the Reproductive Life Cycle: Pregnancy, Postpartum, the Menstrual Cycle and Menopause" on November 1, 2008 from 1-3pm. The event is open to the public and the registration fee is $25. For more information, visitwww.womensmooddisorders.org or call 919-966-9640.Posted at 01:20 PM in Perinatal Mood Disorders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Center for Women's Mood Disorders, Stone, Postpartum Progress,reproductive, symposium, UNCMoms All Over the Blogosphere Write About Perinatal Mood & Anxiety DisordersHere's a

roundup of what's going on out there in the world of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders this week ...Cate at 18 Years and Counting is suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety and needs a Warrior Moms Virtual Hug. Here's a post she just wrote about her obsessions and fears.Jodi Kluchar has just created the PTSD After Childbirth blog. I'm am sure that those of you with postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder will want to follow along for information and comfort. The blog offers info on conferences,

birth stories, research and more.Miranda has just created a blog called Postpartum Help to share her experiences with postpartum depression and try and help others. Give her a shout out! at Depressed (but not unhappy) Mormon Mommy has written about the helpful things people said to her when going through postpartum depression, and what she would say to others. at the Lis & D blog writes about the recent loss of a friend of hers to postpartum psychosis. (This breaks my heart.) She also shares her own experience with postpartum depression.Diane at The Mommy Diaries writes about postpartum depression vs. stress.Posted at 12:53 PM in Perinatal Mood Disorders, postnatal depression, Postpartum Anxiety,Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Postpartum Psychosis,Postpartum PTSD, PPD Stories, Suicide, Women Like

Us | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Stone, postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, postpartum PTSDAugust 17, 2008Breastfeeding

& Postpartum Depression: A Mother Without A BreastBreastfeeding. That word, and the process that accompanies it, can bring about immediate stress for women suffering perinatal mood disorders. It's a highly charged issue. For some of us, difficulties in being able to do it at all send us into a tailspin, and can either cause or exacerbate postpartum depression and anxiety. I thought, if breastfeeding is one of the few things a female body was meant for, why the hell can't I do it? What a defective mother I was!! For others, breastfeeding is one of the only ways suffering moms feel connected to their

babies, and the idea of taking medication is terribly distressing. They'd rather continue to be ill than take meds and have to stop breastfeeding, and are nervous about the risks of continuing and passing trace amounts of meds in their milk to their babies. No matter how we try to look at it, we are filled with dread, guilt and indecision. I've been meaning to write about this topic for a long time, but then I received an essay in my email this week from Sniderman. It is very poignant, and I've decided it will be more powerful to share her confrontation of this issue than mine, with her permission, of course:"My name is , and I have a 2-year-old daughter. Unlike some mothers, PPD was far from my first experience with mental illness. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder since age 22, although that diagnosis took 4 years of frequent

hospitalization and medical guesswork. I have "treatment-resistant" illness; most medications simply increase my symptoms. In 1993, I finally found my miracle in a combination of doxepin and lithium. I got on with my life goals, thanked my lucky stars, and never looked back... until 2005, when I was newly married and hoping to start a family. It turns out that while my medications could be titrated during pregnancy, because of my history I really, really needed them in full dose immediately after delivery. [Reader's note: titration is the process of gradually adjusting the dose of a medication until the desired effect is achieved.] Just when my daughter really, really needed to breastfeed. Thus commenced a frantic search for safety information about the drugs.The outlook couldn't have been worse. Doxepin has been shown to cause

respiratory distress in nursing infants whose mothers take one-third to one-eighth the dose I needed. Meanwhile, the lactation and neonatal experts are divided on lithium; some recommend 'extreme caution' and frequent neonatal bloodwork, while others say it is completely contraindicated. Call me nuts, but I couldn't really see myself, in my vulnerable postpartum state, carefully monitoring my newborn for apnea and hepatoxicity 24/7. I don't think I ever would have slept.As it was, I panicked right after delivery and tried to go without my meds for my baby's sake. I lasted three days before uncontrollable suicidal ideations and racing thoughts sent me to the hospital. At that point, I realized just how real my illness was, though it had been dormant for over a decade. I went back on doxepin and lithium, and added an antipsychotic for the short term. At the time, I

thought I was a terrible mother for needing these medications. Worse -- I thought I was a terrible mother for having the illness that these medications treated (hello, stigma!). Was bottle-feeding really a 'choice' for me? Only if I could somehow have 'chosen' instead to spend my daughter's first year either in unbearable torment or dead. The rhetoric of personal responsibility that surrounds breastfeeding, despite the very real barriers so many women still face, disturbs me in general. When it is applied to severely mentally ill mothers who need uninterrupted sleep, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, it absolutely stops me cold.With the passage of time, I stopped cursing God for making me one of the few women who truly cannot breastfeed. I tend to search for the larger meaning in things, and I don't think it's an accident that the two medications I need are among the only psychotropic medications

unsafe for nursing. I believe this happened so that I could critically re-evaluate my identity as a mother -- and begin educating myself on the cultural disease of maternal self-negation that enrobes new motherhood in impossible expectations.I gave my daughter a mother without a breast, because I couldn't give her a breast without a mother. I know that she and I missed out on a precious experience, but we humans are extremely adaptable and many other equally precious experiences came out of my recovery from PPD, and her subsequent development into a secure and happy little girl. I learned that self-acceptance radiates out, from me to my daughter. I learned that the real joy of mothering only comes from mothering oneself first. My husband and I are trying for our second child, a decision I made only when I felt fully reconciled to the idea of not breastfeeding this one, either. The stakes are just

too great. The risks of bottlefeeding are well-known; the risks of untreated maternal depression, though they can be equally or more grave, are far less imprinted on the public consciousness. I accept this; the fact that I am knowledgable about my own situation is enough for me.The ironic thing to me is that someone seeing me mixing formula at the mall might think to herself, 'What a bad mother. She must not care about breastfeeding.' When, in fact, I am a breastfeeding advocate and would staunchly defend anyone who took flak for nursing a baby -- or a pre-schooler -- in public. My story is not a threat to everything we know about the wonders of breastmilk, and I'm not presenting it as such. It is because breastfeeding is so important that my decision was so difficult. The interaction between PPD and breastfeeding can be a lot more complex than 'take Zoloft -- it's safe!!' There are other women,

caught in the distorted thinking so common in PPD, who refuse any medication out of fear of harming their nursing babies; weaning is sometimes necessary if it is the only way a desperately ill woman will accept treatment. Many OB/GYNs, lactation consultants and psychiatrists have little appreciation for these complex issues.I am sharing this in the hope that some other mom out there reads my story and knows that if it comes to the point of treatment vs. breastfeeding, which thankfully isn't often the case, she can find the courage to be a mother without a breast, rather than no mother at all." Take 's words to heart. Your child needs a healthy mother. Some of you will be able to alleviate perinatal mood disorder symptoms with psychotherapy alone. Others will continue to breastfeed while on medication, because you and your doctor decide the risks are relatively low. Still others will stop, because it is easier for them or because certain medications prohibit breastfeeding. It doesn't matter. Your child needs you more than anything.Posted at 01:32 AM in Breastfeeding, Medication, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression,Stigma | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)Technorati

Tags: breastfeeding, choice, Stone, Sniderman, medications,postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, weaningAugust 15, 2008PPD Study in Pittsburgh Offers Participants Care & Support ServicesA reminder that any woman who gives birth at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh can participate in a five-year, $2.5 million study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the only large-scale research screening program in the country.Mothers who score more than 10 points on a postnatal depression screening scale are eligible for home visits and referrals to mental health and other support services, according to Dr. Wisner, director of the Women's Behavioral HealthCARE program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and a leader of the study, which has served nearly 5,000 women since its inception two years ago.For more information, visit the Women's Behavioral HealthCARE website.Posted at 01:45 AM in postnatal depression, Postpartum Depression, Research, Screening |Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, postpartum depression, Postpartum Progress, research, Women's Behavioral HealthCARE programAugust 14, 2008Postpartum PTSD Study Looking for ParticipantsJodi Kluchar at PTSD After Childbirth sent me the following on a new postpartum PTSD study:In order to help clinicians provide better care to mothers who are having a subsequent childbirth after suffering through a previous traumatic birth, Cheryl Beck (Professor at the University of Connecticut) and Sue (chairperson of TABS) are now conducting a research study on this topic. Women who have had another child after having experienced birth trauma are invited to participate in this research study.Just like Professor Beck's previous studies on birth trauma and PTSD after childbirth, this study will be conducted over the Internet. Mothers will be asked to describe their

experiences during pregnancy, and labor and delivery after having suffered a previous traumatic childbirth.If you are interested in participating in this research or wish to find out more about this study, please contact Professor Cheryl Beck directly at the University of Connecticut. Her email address is Cheryl.Beck@....Posted at 01:49 PM in Postpartum PTSD | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)Technorati Tags: Cheryl Beck, postpartum, postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder, Postpartum Progress, PTSD, research Sincerely,Amy Philo214-705-0169 home817-793-8028 cellURGENT! Sign the petition against the MOTHERS Act at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-actVisit www.uniteforlife.org

August 31, 2008