Speak Up Washington E-Newsletter DECEMBER / JANUARY  NEWS “Speak Up When You’re Down” Campaign Report Now Available “Speak Up When You’re Down: A Report on the Washington State Postpartum Depression Awareness Campaign” is now ready to be distributed. The report details the legislation that created the campaign, and what was accomplished with the dollars appropriated and leveraged from partners in the community, as well as the contributions by partner organizations that were not monetary. To read the full report, click here. For an executive summary of the report, contact Chris Jamieson at: chris@wcpcan.wa.gov.   Research and Resources Welcome  Do you know of a great article, resource or event related to Postpartum Depression? This newsletter will come out once a month and we want to ensure we are including the newest research, the best resources and all relevant events, so PLEASE, send on anything you think might be of use to others interested in the topic of Postpartum Depression. Send any links, articles or the like to Kristen Rogers at kristen@wcpcan.wa.gov. Thank you!

EVENTS Postpartum Mood Disorder Support Group 2nd and 4th Wednesdays 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, Puyallup, Washington A support group is now being offered at the Puyallup Library, 324 South Meridian near Pioneer Park. The group will meet the second and forth Wednesday of every month. MerrieLynn Rice, a Public Health Nurse and “Speak Up” campaign partner is running these groups. For additional information contact MerrieLynn at (253)789-3539.   Postpartum Doula Training March 16th & 17th and 30th & 31st, 2007, Seattle, Washington The postpartum period is often the most challenging and overlooked time in the transition to parenthood. Many new families lack the care they need following the birth of their baby. The postpartum Doula helps meet this need by educating, nurturing, and empowering mothers and families towards confidence in their new roles. Take a four-day Postpartum Doula training at Seattle Midwifery School. You may decide to work for a Doula agency, use the training to enhance your current employment, or go into business for yourself. The training is approved by the Northwest Association for Postpartum Support and DONA International. For more information, go to: www.seattlemidwifery.org/doula_education.htm.   Diagnosis and Treatment of Postpartum Mood Disorders March 26th, 2007, Seattle, Washington Building on its work with the Washington State Speak Up When You’re Down postpartum depression awareness campaign, Seattle Midwifery School will host this one-day workshop on the diagnosis and treatment of postpartum mood disorders. Topics to be covered include: a review of normal baby blues, postpartum adjustment difficulties and postpartum mood disorders; concrete examples of the impact of PPMD’s; screening procedures and referral processes; proven social support techniques; proven therapy options; and proven medical management tools. For more information, go to: http://www.seattlemidwifery.org/doula_education_ppmd.htm.

RESEARCH Women’s Health USA 2005 PPD Profile and Chart Depression is a major cause of disability among women, particularly women of childbearing age. While there is little evidence that depression rates during pregnancy are higher than at other points in a woman’s life, pregnancy and the postpartum months are a period when some women may be particularly vulnerable to both major and minor depression. Perinatal depression includes major depressive episodes as well as minor depressive episodes (which are less severe but still impairing). These episodes begin during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after delivery. A breakdown of depression by trimester, as well as the full article from Women’s Health USA is available at: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa_05/index.htm.   1 in 1,000 Women Hospitalized for Mental Illness After Delivering First Infant From Dec 6th First Steps About one in 1,000 women within three months of giving birth to their first infant experience a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression, that is severe enough to require hospitalization, according to a study published in the Dec. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Chicago Tribune reports. Women giving birth to their first infant also were about four times more likely to be hospitalized with a mental condition than were women with no children. Fluctuating hormone levels and other physical changes after childbirth might explain why some women are at an increased risk of postpartum mental illness. In a JAMA editorial that accompanied the study, Katherine Wisner, professor of psychiatry and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said postpartum mental illness is "a major public health problem" and called for screening programs beginning two weeks postpartum and continuing for one year to diagnose and treat mental illnesses among women. To read the full article in JAMA, go to: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=58359.   Correlates of Early Postpartum Depressive Symptoms This article, published in the Maternal Health and Child Journal, and written by Elizabeth Howell and others, looked at correlates of PPD Symptoms. The study found that postpartum depressive symptoms negatively affect the quality of life and daily functioning of mothers and infants. Little research has examined the impact of situational factors such as physical symptom burden and function on early postpartum depressive symptoms. Nearly 39% of patients screened positive for depressive symptoms. The authors concluded that nonwhite race, physical symptom burden, infant colic, lack of social support, and lower self-efficacy scores are associated with early postpartum depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to investigate whether providing social support and teaching skills to enhance self-efficacy will reduce the incidence of early postpartum symptoms of depression. To read the full study, go to: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/536574.

RESOURCES Screening for Maternal Depression: An Opportunity for Providers of Pediatric Healthcare Major depression affects one in 10 mothers and one in 20 fathers throughout the child rearing years. Pediatric health providers—often the clinicians who have the most contact with a parent during his or her child’s early years—can help parents and children by detecting and intervening in parental depression. A new Commonwealth Fund-supported Web conference, “Screening for Maternal Depression: An Opportunity for Providers of Pediatric Healthcare,” is now available online. To view this web conference, go to: http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/6101.   New Resources Now Available on Speak Up Website WCPCAN has recently updated the resources available on the Speak Up website with input and assistance from our partner organizations. Spend some time perusing the site and catching up on what is available. If you know of a resource and don’t see it on our site, please contact Kristen Rogers at: kristen@wcpcan.wa.gov. To view the new resources go to: http://www.speakup.wa.gov/.   Yates Verdict Symposium Notes The symposium notes from Stacey Classman, regarding the Andrea Yates verdict and more generally women’s mental health and the law, has been made available. Stacey is the Houston, TX PSI state coordinator who has been working very closely with George Parnham, the defense Lawyer for Andrea Yates, and with the Yates Children Memorial Fund and the Mental Health Association of Greater Houston to implement state legislative initiatives to educate women about PPMD to prevent such tragedies in the future. To view the Symposium notes, go to: www.wcpcan.wa.gov/ppd/research_news.htm.

FEATURE ARTICLE: COST BENEFIT TO EMPLOYERS WHO PAY FOR DEPRESSION TREATMENT Benefits to Employers Outweigh Enhanced Depression-Care Costs It may be in society’s and employers’ best interests to offer programs that actively seek out and treat depression in the workforce, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). A simulation based on dozens of studies revealed that providing a minimal level of enhanced care for employees’ depression would result in a cumulative savings to employers of $2,898 per 1,000 workers over 5 years. Even though the intervention would initially increase use of mental health services, it ultimately would save employers money, by reducing absenteeism and employee turnover costs, according to Drs. Phillip Wang and Ronald Kessler, of Harvard University, and colleagues, who report on their findings in the December 2006 “Archives of General Psychiatry.” For more information, go to: www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec2006/nida-05.htm.