The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act has passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority but faces a tougher struggle in the Senate, where it currently awaits markup by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee. But the current battle over the MOTHERS ACT is being waged online, between proponents of the bill and the misinformed few who believe the Act is a Trojan horse full of pills sent by Big Pharma. Google MOTHERS Act and you'll get an idea of which side is shouting louder: "MOTHERS Act Seeks to Drug Expectant Mothers with Antidepressants," "Mothers Act Fuels Multibillion Dollar Industry," "Branding Pregnancy as Mental Illness." The shouters are few in number but extremely vocal and hard at work lobbying our senators to vote against the bill. It's imperative that everyone who wants to see greater awareness of PPD and more money allocated to research, education, and treatments call or write their Senator today. Now is our chance to shine a light on an illness that keeps so many women and their families in the dark.

Let your voice heard above the fray:

1. •Susan Dowd Stone's Web site has a growing list of names of supporters. These lists of constituents will be presented to our senators around Mother's Day. To add your name to the list, write to susanstonelcsw@aol.com and include your name, state, and any affiliations or credentials.
   

2. •Contact any or all of the senators on the HELP committee and encourage them to support the bill, and contact your own senator to let them know how you feel about the importance of continued research on PPD and ensuring women's access to information and services.
   

This legislation will:

-encourage the Secretary of Health and Human Services to continue: (1) activities on postpartum depression; and (2) research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and treatments for, postpartum conditions

- express the sense of Congress that the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health may conduct a nationally representative longitudinal study of the relative mental health consequences for women of resolving a pregnancy in various ways

- amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants for projects for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with a postpartum condition and their families.

- Direct the Secretary to ensure that such projects provide education and services with respect to the diagnosis and management of postpartum conditions.

Moreover, this bill is an affordable approach to research and services.

This is good policy, good politics and a good public health bill!

Take a moment to remember and honor the hundreds of thousands of women—women who have lost either their ability to “mother” or, in far too many cases, their lives to postpartum depression.