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Listen to Dr. Shoshana Bennett, EmpowHer.com’s host of Mom’s Health Matters talk with Susan Dowd Stone about post partum depression and recent legislation in our country called the Mother's Act, that advocates for mothers suffering from PPD.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Susan Dowd Stone is the President of Postpartum Support International. She is a lecturer at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She received her clinical training from New York University where she was the recipient of a President Service award.
Subsequently, she helped form and facilitate the postpartum psychotherapy program at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry. Ms. Stone is also a writer. Among her recent writings include a co-edited book, Perinatal and Postpartum Mood Disorders: Perspective and Treatment Guide for the Healthcare Practitioner.
She regularly presents at conferences and also in the media. Recent national TV appearances include the CBS Early Show, ABC News, and The Morning Show on Fox. In 2007, Susan Stone was invited by US Senator Robert Menendez to speak at a Senate press conference on the Mother’s Act, which we’re about to talk about next, along with New Jersey First Lady Mary Jo Codey and actress Brooke Shields.
Susan, welcome to Mom’s Health Matters.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Hi Dr. Shosh, how are you?
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
I am fine. I am so glad that you are here. Susan, you’ve been working so hard to help pass this legislation of the Mother’s Act, such an important piece of legislation, and everyone I know in the field of maternal mental health is also supporting the legislation, but there’s been some confusion about it and even misinformation regarding the Mother’s Act, and I’d love for you to help clear this up. Can you help us?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
I would sure be happy to do that, but first I just wanted to mention that, Shoshana, as the previous president of Postpartum Support International, you left some very big shoes to fill. I constantly admire you and read all your books and take your advice. So you’re a real mentor of mine, and I appreciate that.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Oh, thank you so much.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Though the reason there’s confusion are a couple of points here. The first is because there’s actually three legislative initiatives that were happening at the same time, and those tended to confuse people. First, you had the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Research and Care Act. That was out of Chicago. That was sponsored by Congressman Bobby Rush and Carol Blocker after the very tragic death of one of Congressman Rush’s constituents, Melanie Blocker-Stokes, who leapt to her death as a result of postpartum psychosis.
So since that time Congressman Rush and Melanie Blocker-Stokes’ mother Carol Blocker urged the passage of federal legislation for more research and education. So that bill was about research and education.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Got it.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
So while this was going on, Governor Codey of New Jersey and his wife Mary Jo Codey, who I know you’ve heard of, a very powerful national advocate who herself suffered with two postpartum depressions and has bravely taken her story forward to the country.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
And she actually wrote the foreword, Susan, sorry to interrupt you, she wrote the foreword to Postpartum Depression for Dummies, one of my books which I was so delighted that she was willing to do that, but she has done so much for the field, hasn’t she?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
She has been amazing. She never turns down an opportunity to educate professional or consumer audiences about how important this legislation is, and she was the inspiration for the New Jersey legislation, which she and her husband, Governor Codey, signed into law here, signed by Governor Corzine on April 13, 2006 and this legislation went a step further than the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Research and Care Act.
This called for mandated screening of moms prior to discharge from a hospital after delivery. Concurrently, what was great about this is it also included an educational campaign for healthcare providers and consumers. The consumer campaign was called "Speak Up When You’re Down," which had a warmline, an 800 warmline, women could call in the state of New Jersey and also brochures and just PSAs, Public Service Announcements, encouraging women to reach out for help, but also, and this is what I think was so critical, Shoshana, was that they had an educational component for healthcare professionals.
They sponsored training for social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, obstetricians, and provided an online web-based educational webinar where clinicians could go and take courses and consumers could go and find out more information.
Dr. Soshana Bennett:
It’s fabulous, and you are part of that webinar, correct?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
I was a contributor to the webinar, I am proud to say, one of many, one of many contributors to that webinar. So you had these two pieces of legislation, so Congressman Rush and the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Act advanced to Congress where it was passed in the House of Representatives last fall by a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote.
With bipartisan being the operative word here because, Shoshana, as you well know, and from your experience that this is an apolitical bipartisan issue.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
This is a public health issue. It is not about Republicans, Democrats, your socio-economic level; it hits and can hit anybody.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
That’s right, that’s right. So what then happened was meanwhile, based on the New Jersey legislation, US Senator Robert Menendez in the Senate introduced a bill called The Mother’s Act, the Mom’s Opportunity for Research and Education, and that was introduced in the Senate last May. That’s the press conference that you referred to earlier where we introduced that to the Senate, and that bill is a combination of the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Research and Care Act and also based on the legislation in New Jersey because of course Senator Robert Menendez is our Senator from New Jersey, but also he has been joined in this by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois.
So the two of them sponsored this bill, and at this point we are still looking for Senate co-sponsors. Right now, we do have both Democratic presidential nominees, Senator Barrack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton have signed on as co-sponsors, Senator Edward Kennedy who heads the HELP Committee, where the bill now rests, and Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine who is a Republican and then we have Barbara Boxer, Bernard Sanders, Frank Lautenberg, and Senator Whitehouse.
So those are the senators who have currently signed on the sponsored legislation along with many national organizations.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Susan, I want to ask you in a moment about why we actually need federal legislation, but first I want to make sure our listeners know that you are listening to Mom’s Health Matters with Dr. Shosh. For more information, you can go to Empowher.com and we are speaking with Susan Dowd Stone at the moment. She is president of Postpartum Support International and educating us about the Mother’s Act, a very important piece of legislation.
So Susan, there are several states which already have developed postpartum programs in their communities, so why do we need this federal legislation? What will it give us that we don’t have now?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
It will give us a lot of things and well, we do have two states because Illinois has now joined New Jersey as another state that has legislation on the books encouraging screening and education of healthcare providers.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
And when you say "screening," what are you referring to?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Well, I am referring to before a woman is discharged from the hospital or even during her pregnancy, she is given a test, well, there are several that are used out there, but the most common one is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening Scale, and that consists of 12 questions about how a mother is feeling, what her moods are. It is very easy to administer, it's easy to answer, has high reliability, and women accept this.
There’s been no objection to this sort of screening for mothers who go there and, Dr. Shosh, when you think about it, we screen women for so many other things while they are pregnant.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Absolutely, and those things often happen at a far less of a rate than postpartum depression. So isn’t that odd that there’s routine screening for other things that happen at a much lower rate.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Yes, we do genetic screening, we rule out so many things that parents want to know about, about their baby and their pregnancy, but here we have a public health crisis, because up to 20% of women may experience a mood disorder, and this is something we have never asked women about during their pregnancy.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
So that’s something that the Mother’s Act will also do?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Yes, it will strongly suggest screening of women, but it doesn’t mandate it. In other words, you are free to say, “No thanks, I would like to pass,” just as you are with any other medical exam that is offered. More importantly, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Mother’s Act provides grants for supportive services for women, and these aren’t just from doctors and social workers and psychologists, these are from community-based facilities that want to offer everything from helping new moms in the home to transportation, to social support groups and may include therapy and may include doctor visits. So it’s a full range of services that this bill is seeking to support.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Fantastic. You are listening to Mom's Health Matters with Dr. Shosh. For more information you can go to Empowher.com and we have on the line with us Susan Dowd Stone who is the current president of Postpartum Support International, and she is speaking on the Mother’s Act, a very important piece of legislation that we are trying to get passed.
And Susan, I have heard that some groups are feeling that the Mother’s Act will somehow encourage mothers to be medicated. I mean, in some way this is tied up with the pharmaceutical companies or, you know, the women will then be labeled as mentally ill, have their children removed from the home. I mean, these are pretty scary rumors going around. What can you tell us about that?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
They are very scary rumors, and there are groups that don’t feel that the government should be involved in healthcare at all, let alone mental health. But one reason it needs to be is because this is a public health crisis, Shoshana.
No one questions the dollars, the millions of dollars we pour into breast cancer and other illnesses and the fact that the government gets behind that and supports the agencies and services that help people recover from medical illnesses, but when it comes to mental health there seems to be a double standard.
So some of these groups feel that if moms are screened and the screening indicates that there’s a serious diagnosis here that may benefit from medication, that mothers will be forced to take medication; that is absolutely untrue. This bill does not fund any type of medication, does not have any initiative that speaks to that Postpartum Support International, which is its lead sponsor, has no affiliations with any pharmaceuticals whatsoever; all our money comes from donors. This is about programs and services.
Having said that, we must never shame mothers who may need to take medications to get well. Women are shooting themselves in the foot by not embracing any and all the services in recovery and support that mothers need to recover from these devastating illnesses.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Well put, well put. There shouldn’t be any shame associated with this whatsoever.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Right, and we include natural remedies, exercise, nutrition, good sleep, therapy, all of these services are things that we want moms to be able to have a full access to, because as you know, Shoshana, each woman’s story is as unique as she is.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Absolutely, and just because she might be suffering from postpartum depression does not necessarily mean that she will need what the next woman might need.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Exactly.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
So what I hear you saying, Susan, and thank you very much for clarifying, you know, for really setting us straight about these awful rumors going around, that whatever she needs she’ll have access to, whether it is alternative treatments, whether it’s medicine, whether it’s support groups, whether it’s, no matter what it is, she'll be recognized and she'll get whatever it is that she specifically needs for recovery.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Right. Whether it's help in the home, transportation to her doctor’s appointment, all the services that are supportive to new mothers who may be struggling with the pregnancy-related mood disorder show.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Susan, there’s one more question that I want to ask you before our time is up, and I want our listeners to know that you are tuned into Mom's Health Matters with Dr. Shosh. If you want more information you can go to EmpowHer.com.
Susan, what can we do? What can each of us do to show support for this legislation?
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Thank you very much for asking that. I would like everyone to please go to www.postpartum.net which is PSI’s website, and click on the legislative update button. That would bring you to a page where you can click and sign an online petition in support of the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Mother’s Act.
This will automatically find, once you enter your zip code, your local congressman, your state senators, and it will go to the President and all of the lawmakers that they have of this country’s laws so that your voice can be heard and we can get this through the Senate.
Currently we have 15,000 signatures but we’d like to get up to 100,000 by the end of the month.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
I am sure we can. Susan, thank you so much for your passion, your dedication, your commitment, and for joining us and for educating us on this very, very important issue. I really appreciate you being here.
Dr. Susan Dowd Stone:
Thank you, and thank you Dr. Shosh for having this radio show. It’s very important, very critical information from us.
Dr. Shoshana Bennett:
Thank you, and to EmpowHer, a thank you to EmpowHer absolutely. You can go to EmpowHer.com for more information and thank you for joining us.
Announcer:
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