What does it take to make a difference in another woman's life? Especially if that woman is someone you've never met with problems you can't begin to imagine? In years past you would need to sift through a hundred organizations, pick one with a decent reputation, find your checkbook and send your dollars via the U.S. postal service. Six weeks later you would receive a three page typed letter in the regular mail telling you how you made a difference. With the bar set that high, too few people gave and too many women continued to suffer.

In the time that it takes you to read this post, at least one woman will die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. One woman dies, every minute. A new study shows that the majority of maternal deaths are caused by infection or infectious disease and are preventable.

When I think about the shoddy way that new moms are treated in the United States, it is no wonder that so many women end up postpartum depression.  We get so little support and so little time to recover and figure out what the heck we're supposed to be doing in this new role with this new little, breakable person who came without a background file.

From the moment I realized I was pregnant right up to this very moment I have loved being a mother. I have not always liked it, but I have loved it. My pregnancy was easy: no morning sickness, no weird cravings. (I did gain 50 lbs because I took pregnancy as a sign to have carte blanch at every Mexican restaurant this side of the state.) For the most part, though, being pregnant was the best I've felt in my life.

I decided to post on some of the interesting health and wellness issues that have been in the news this week...

How much do you know about postpartum mood disorders?  In part because of the tragedy of Andrea Yates drowning her children, Brooke Shields writing a book about her experience, and Tom Cruise mouthing off to Matt Lauer, postpartum depression has gotten a lot more notice in the media these days.  But there's much more to it than what you hear on TV or read in the gossip mags.  And much of what you do hear -- surprise! -- is sensationalized and uninformed. Hello fellow BlogHers!  My name is Katherine Stone and I'm excited to join you as a guest editor on the topic of postpartum mood disorders.  Despite increasing awareness, many women know very little about them, and many new mothers who fall ill do not understand what is happening to them.  Even if they do, they're afraid to speak up because of the stigma of mental illness.  What if someone takes their children away?  What if people judge them as unfit mothers and terrible human beings?  Would you speak up about up about mental illness while at the same time the people around you are making fun of Britney Spears and astronaut Lisa Nowak (labeled by the gleeful media as the "Astronut")?  It would certainly make you think twice.  And if you did decide to reach out for help, who could you trust and where should you go?

Did you hear Mrs Tennessee was bit by a rattlesnake? (There are snake pictures - don't click if you don't like snakes!) Contrary to the news reports, Mrs Idaho did not pull the fangs out or suck out venom. It would have been cool if she had, though. It appears as though it was Mrs Iowa who offered nursely assistance. I guess it can be hard to tell one beauty queen from another? I just want to clarify that none of the news reporters have checked their facts very well. I am not an RN, I did not pull a snake fang from Mrs. Tennessee's foot and I did not suck the venom out. Yes, I was there and yes I did take lots of pictures (what can you expect from a scrapbooker) but that is it. I have posted pictures of the snake on my blog, but the pictures of Christina are not going to be posted by me. I took them for her and she will decide what to do with them. Just goes to show you that what you see and hear from the media is often very wrong.