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....

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.

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.

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.

New moms have specific contraceptive needs. They want birth control that is effective, simple to use, can be used over a long period of time, and allows for sexual spontaneity. An important question often asked by new moms is, “How soon after giving birth do I need to start using birth control?” Usually, doctors recommend that birth control be started six weeks after giving birth (if medically it’s okay to have sex) or when menstruation resumes.

I know I've written about this before in a previous post ... about how difficult it was when I decided not to breastfeed my fourth baby (and I don't mean the decision itself was difficult -- it was that the health care providers around me were unbelievably difficult). Well, I'm just glad that I'm not giving birth today because of the self-righteous stance that a slew of hospitals and providers around the country are taking.

Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, President of Postpartum Support International joined us on EmpowHer and to talk about a CBS News story that explained how men are experiencing PPD / Postpartum Depression.

Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, President of Postpartum Support International joined EmpowHer to explain the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act that's working it's way through the United States Congress. After hearing this interview, please click on the link below and sign the petition.

Fathers with postpartum depression (PPD) have symptoms that are often different from the fluctuating moods and emotions that moms with PPD exhibit. As a rule, fathers have more tension and short-temperedness along with fear, anger, frustration, and helplessness. Dads with PPD are
concerned about their partners, their disrupted family life, and financial problems. They have increased expectations for themselves, decreased sleep, confusion over their new role, and increased responsibilities (especially if the mom has PPD).

Male postpartum depression may have more negative effects on some aspects of a child's development than its female counterpart, says James F. Paulson, PhD, of the Center for Pediatric Research at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.

Paulson and colleagues reviewed data on more than 5,000 two-parent families with children aged 9 months.

The research, presented here at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), also showed that the 14% of new moms have postpartum depression. That compares to 7% to 10% of women in the general population.