Recently, I decided I would try to find out what the policies are regarding educating mothers in the state of Georgia on postpartum depression. So I wrote the following email:
I’d like to find out what statewide policies or programs are in place in Georgia for the education and treatment of postpartum mood disorders, including postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
The state of Texas enacted a bill that requires healthcare providers who treat pregnant women to provide them with resource information regarding counseling for postpartum depression and other emotional traumas associated with pregnancy and parenting. And the state of New Jersey has a website and 24-hour PPD help line that provides information about resources and emergency assistance. Does Georgia have similar policies or are any in progress?
Postpartum mood disorders are extremely serious and deserve the attention of our local leaders. I am a Georgia resident and a survivor of postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder. I have a blog read by women around the country called Postpartum Progress at http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com and I was the PPD spokesperson for National Depression Screening Day. I’d like to help create policies to support new mothers if none yet exist.
I sent the email to:
- the Georgia chapter of the National Association of Mental Illness (nami-ga@nami.org)
- the Carter Center Mental Health program (jon.moor@emory.edu)
I did not get a single reply yet. NOT ONE. Does anybody out there in Georgia care enough to reply to this basic question? Does anybody in Georgia care about postpartum mood disorders?
Before I contact any of these agencies reguarding their oversights, what date did you send the e-mail and did you resend it to be sure ? I would like to respond, but not TOO soon. Being the majority of us are over worked or volunteers. Thanks, Janet
One of the things we all need to do is to become more politically active and advocate for these initiatives with our local and state representatives. Have you tried writing or e-mailing to any of your local representatives on the state level to see if you can get a response? The only reason NJ became so active in promoting PPD education is because the former Governor's wife MaryJo Codey had the courage to speak publically about her experience with PPD. NJ has initiated a state-wide educational campaign and has provided a formal training seminar for nurses, social workers, and physicians to form a speaker's bureau. When someone needs a program on PPD, the speaker's bureau provides the names of speakers whom they can call. Our Latino community has also asked for and received monies for mental health initiatives in their communities, specifying the need to explore and treat PPD.