Here's a roundup of what's going on out there in the world of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders this week ...Cate at 18 Years and Counting is suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety and needs a Warrior Moms Virtual Hug. Here's a post she just wrote about her obsessions and fears.

I've come to realize that for some reason, there are a lot of booksellers out there who just don't feel it's important to offer a single book on postpartum depression or related illnesses for sale in their stores. I don't know why. I think that's a major disservice to women everywhere.

It's time to talk about the Melanie Blocker Stokes (MBS) MOTHERS Act again. I know, I know. We've heard this all before, you're thinking. I already called my Senator, you're thinking. I already wrote about this on my blog, you're thinking. Sheesh!, you may even be thinking. Well, apparently everything you and I have done so far in support of this bill hasn't been enough.

How many women's lives can we save with donations from the BlogHer community, between now and Mother's Day, May 11, 2008? If you will download this widget today and encourage your readers to donate, we can find out. Won't you join us?

One area I don't like to talk about is hospitalization. I don't know why. It's like the ultimate embarrassment for me or something that at one point I had to be hospitalized in a mental hospital (UGH!) for depression. It was only for a few days, but it's one thing of which I have to say I still feel slightly ashamed. If our society considered mental illness a physical illness, then of course I wouldn't be ashamed, because there is nothing at all wrong with being sick and having to go to the hospital.

There is a ridiculous campaign being waged through petitions and blogs right now to block passage of the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act for postpartum depression. I am truly peeved and disappointed at the breathless, hysterical ranting going on about the MOTHERS Act. Many of those who oppose it seem to have done LITTLE to NOTHING to inform themselves about the actual bill and the organizations that support it. Falsehoods are being spread. Here are some examples:

FEBRUARY 14, at 10am, the Senate's HELP committee will mark up the new Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act Bill ... Let's ask the HELP committee to send a Valentine to America's mothers by finishing up the bill and sending it to the Senate floor for a final vote. 

Today I'm thrilled to share the podcast of an interview I just conducted, in partnership with Blogher, with former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. 

Quick, guess which number is higher:  the number of people who sprain their ankle each year or the number of women who experience a postpartum mood disorder?  Actually, it's about equal.  Surprised?

This week, the offices of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Congressman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) announced they are finalizing the new federal postpartum depression legislation for its anticipated victory in the U.S.

Tyra Banks focused her show yesterday on postpartum depression.  She included a psychiatrist as a guest on the segment, who provided the usual list of things depressed new moms should do for our depression: prioritize, sleep when the baby sleeps, avoid isolating, etc.  Looking at the list made me think about the fact that, when you're depressed, you couldn't care less about lists.  Lists are for those people who actually want to DO things.  You know, like Martha Stewart ... women who get up at 5am ready to tackle the day, do some ashtanga yoga, whip up a pumpkin souffle, give their baby a massage, plant an autumnal container garden and fashion a Christmas tree out of pipe cleaners.

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.