Okay, I'm trying to type this post with a straight face. I know this topic has been out there for a long while ... I think I first heard about it a few years ago and repressed the memory of it. It's come back above ground recently through the media and still totally freaks me out. I find it amazing that a woman sued a hospital to get her placenta so she could eat it. And I just visited a discussion thread on mothering.com to see what other moms are saying about the suggestion that eating your placenta cures you of PPD. I'm still freaked out....

Here are some questions I frequently hear from clients, their family members and friends. If you have a specific question that is not addressed here, email it to me and I'll do my best to get a response online ASAP. I will be adding questions and answers to this article every week.

In addition, you can visit my website www.perinatalpro.com where you will find additional information about pregnancy related mood disorders and
mental health.

How long after giving birth does postpartum depression typically appear?

This question has a range of responses. While many women

While our senate heroes, U. S. Senators Robert Menendez and Richard Durbin of IL, co-sponsors of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, and their supporters - including presidential candidate Barack Obama and many other bipartisan advocates, lost a battle in the U.S. Senate today, we have not lost the war against postpartum depression and services for our nation's mothers.

More than half of 26,000 college students who completed a Web survey said they had thought about committing suicide at least once in their lives, University of Texas at Austin researchers say.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had seriously considered suicide, and more than 5 percent said they had actually attempted to kill themselves at least once, psychologist David J. Drum and co-authors reported Sunday in a news release to coincide with their planned presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Boston.

Today, American's mothers, infants and families have reason to be encouraged and to reach out to their state senators to again request their support of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act in its final push to passage.YOU HAVE BEEN HEARD and this morning, Majority Leader Reid introduced a package of bills called Advance America's Priorities Act which now includes The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act. Senators Robert Menendez (NJ) and Richard Durbin (IL) have been working very hard with Majority Leader Harry Reid and Chairman Edward Kennedy to pass this legislation.

Deep brain stimulation can help many patients with tough-to-treat depression, says a Canadian study. In deep brain stimulation, electrical impulses are delivered through electrodes implanted in the brain.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
One in seven women suffers from depression before, during or after pregnancy, a new study finds.

The consequences of depression can be devastating to the mother, her baby and her entire family, according to the report in the October issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.

"The prevalence of women diagnosed with depression before, during and after pregnancy was pretty similar," said lead author Patricia Dietz, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health.

FRIDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Giving up your few drinks a day may lead to health issues, including depression, a new study says.

FRIDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists may have found more evidence that a person's genetic make-up may help determine whether or not they respond to the antidepressant Celexa (citalopram).

Specifically, researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that variations in the serotonin transporter gene could help select which patients should try this drug, one of the family of medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Some 10 percent of the American population now take antidepressants, making it the most widely prescribed drug class in the country.

I’m a survivor of two life-threatening postpartum depressions. At the time of my illnesses, there was no help for me. The great news is that, if you’re suffering from depression in pregnancy or postpartum or know someone who is, there’s help now. For the last 20 years my mission has been to educate medical and mental health professionals, and work directly with women and their families around the world to make sure they don’t suffer the way my family and I did. I’ve worked with over 15,000 women, and I’ve never met one who did not fully recover when given proper help.