Speak Up Washington E-Newsletter FEBRUARY  NEWS Melanie Stokes Act Reintroduced in Congress “On February 23, 2001, Melanie Blocker-Stokes, a Chicago native and successful pharmaceutical sales manager, wife, and mother, gave birth to a daughter. After the birth of her daughter, Mrs. Blocker-Stokes developed a devastating mood disorder, known as postpartum psychosis. She was admitted to Chicago-area hospitals 3 times, each time for 7 to 10 days. Despite medical assistance and the support of her family and friends, Mrs. Blocker-Stokes lost her battle with postpartum psychosis and jumped from a 12-story window ledge to her death on June 11, 2001.” This might sound like old news, but this dangerous predator, postpartum depression, is still roaming free. After Melanie’s death, her mother Carol began a PPD awareness campaign – a crusade. She has organized marches, appeared in the media, and initiated legislation. The Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression and Research and Care Act was initiated on June 28, 2001, about 1 month after Melanie’s death. This Act has 2 major components: to provide for research on, and provide services to individuals with postpartum depression and psychosis. The Act has not yet passed through all of the official hurdles to become legislation. On January 4, 2007, Congressman Bobby Rush reintroduced the Melanie Stokes Act to the 110th Congress as H.R. 20. Let’s support it! If you haven’t already written to you Congressman, please do so. Finding your Congressman is easy, just click here. For more information, go to: http://www.mededppd.org/.   Postpartum Support International of WA – Position Opening PSI of WA is currently looking for a volunteer board member to share the Phone Coordinator Position that oversees coordination and training of volunteers for the “warm-line” which offers mom to mom peer phone support for PPMD. They currently have one Phone Coordinator, but would like to have 2 or 3 to split up the work load. You yourself do not necessarily need to be a volunteer phone support person on the warm line, and PSI would provide training on how to train the phone volunteers and the other aspects of this position. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please contact Heidi Koss-Nobel at: heidikossnobel@comcast.net.   Do You Get the WCPCAN Legislative Update? We are a third of the way through the legislative session. Are you paying attention to what is happening for children and families this year? Some people are advocating for funding so that the Speak Up When You’re Down postpartum depression campaign can continue. Do you know how that request is faring? If you would like to be kept up to date on legislative issues impacting kids and families, you can sign up for this free e-newsletter that comes out once a week during session at: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:2202.   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 Doula Training March 16th & 17th and 30th & 31st, 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, Seattle, Washington Building on its work with the Washington State Speak Up When You’re Down postpartum depression awareness campaign, the 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.   The Impact of Pregnancy & Postpartum Mood Disorders on Maternal & Child Health, Attachment and the Long-Term Impact on the Family and Marriage May 2nd, Pre-conference at Infant Early Childhood Conference, Bellevue, Washington Clinical mood disorders such as depression, anxiety or others experienced by the mother during pregnancy and/or postpartum greatly impact not only her well-being, but also the family as a whole. This workshop will identify and define the spectrum perinatal & postpartum mood disorders (PPMD), as well as possible long term effects on the mental and physical health of the mother and child when a mother’s mood disorder remains untreated or unresolved. Additionally, this workshop will look at the impact of PPMD's on parent-child attachment relationships (bonding). For more information, or to register, go to: http://www.ieccwa.org/ & find Pre-conference session 6.

RESEARCH The Effects of Peer Support on Postpartum Depression This study, conducted by Cindy-Lee Dennis, RN, PHD, was intended to evaluate the effect of peer support (mother-to-mother) on depressive symptomatology among mothers identified as high-risk for postpartum depression (PPD). The results show that telephone-based peer support may effectively decrease depressive symptomatology among new mothers. The high maternal satisfaction with, and acceptance of, the intervention suggests that a larger trial is feasible. This article was published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry in 2003. To view the full article, go to: http://server03.cpa-apc.org:8080/Publications/Archives/CJP/2003/march/dennis.asp.   Participants Wanted for Research Study Doula Sally Dear is conducting a research study for her doctoral dissertation to learn how knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to pregnancy, birth and early mothering are transmitted from mother to daughter. She is recruiting women and their daughters (who must have given birth within the last five years) for the study. This project has been reviewed and approved by Binghamton University’s Human Subjects Research Review Committee. If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact Sally Dear at 607-777-4186 or sdear@binghamton.edu.   The Role of Exercise in Treating Postpartum Depression: A Review of the Literature There is now evidence to support the antidepressant effects of exercise in general and in clinical populations. This article reviews the evidence regarding the potential role of exercise, particularly pram walking, as an adjunctive treatment for postpartum depression. To read the full article, go to: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/551030.   Legal and Ethical Considerations: Risks and Benefits of Postpartum Depression Screening at Well-Child Visits Pediatric professionals are being asked to provide an increasing array of services during well-child visits, including screening for psychosocial and family issues that may directly or indirectly affect their pediatric patients. One such service is routine screening for postpartum depression at pediatric visits. Postpartum depression is an example of a parental condition that can have serious negative effects for the child. For more information, go to: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/1/123.   Counseling can Prevent Postpartum Depression Mind Matters, By Lawson Wulsin Young, poor, first-time mothers with few resources and a family history of depression have a one in five chance of developing major depression in the first few months after the baby is born. The toll of postpartum depression is both immediate and lasting. Infants of depressed mothers develop more slowly, including having measurably lower IQs in boys at later ages, according to one study. Can postpartum depression be prevented? Yes, even in high-risk mothers. A persuasive study published by a group at Brown University showed that preventive counseling reduced the risk of postpartum depression from 20 percent to 4 percent within three months of delivery. Other studies have shown similar benefits. For more information, go to: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070119/LIFE07/701190332.

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: COPPER AND PPD Copper may be Tied to Postpartum Depression Women with a history of postpartum depression tend to have unusually high levels of copper in their blood, a new study has found — suggesting the mineral may play some role in the disorder. While many women go through a short spell of the “baby blues” after giving birth, about 15 percent suffer full-blown postpartum depression. It’s not clear why some women are more vulnerable than others. The new findings suggest that the body’s regulation of copper levels may be involved, researchers report in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology. To read the full report, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17070277/from/ET.