Melanie Blocker-Stoked Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act

Floor Speech

MELANIE BLOCKER-STOKES POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION RESEARCH AND CARE ACT -- (House of Representatives - October 15, 2007)

Ms. BALDWIN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 20) to provide for research on, and services for individuals with, postpartum depression and psychosis, as amended.

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Ms. BALDWIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act of 2007.

The birth of a child can be a joyous and exciting time, but following childbirth, some women may experience postpartum disorders that can adversely affect a woman's mental health. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, about 10 percent of new moms experience postpartum depression, a form of depression that can develop within the first 6 months after giving birth.

For women with postpartum depression, feelings such as sadness, anxiety, and restlessness can be so strong that they interfere with daily tasks. Rarely, a more extreme form of depression known as postpartum psychosis can develop. Postpartum depression and psychosis can have an adverse effect on a woman's mental health and impair their ability to bond with their newborn child.

The legislation before us today will go a long way towards helping to increase awareness of postpartum depression and psychosis. H.R. 20 encourages the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health to expand and intensify research on postpartum depression and to conduct and support research in an effort to find a cure for postpartum depression and psychosis.

Furthermore, this legislation encourages the NIH to carry out a national campaign to increase awareness of postpartum depression, and it directs Health and Human Services to make grants to help with coordinating the effective delivery of essential services to individuals with postpartum depression, as well as their families.

I would like to extend a special thank you to our Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee chairman, Mr. Rush, who has championed this bill's cause. His commitment to ensuring that women who suffer from postpartum depression better understand their condition and have access to the resources that they need has been unwavering. I commend him for his hard work, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this life-saving legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. BALDWIN. Madam Speaker, in closing, I wish to urge my colleagues to support this important bill. As we have heard, postpartum depression is a very serious women's health issue. This bill will raise awareness about postpartum depression and will further research in an effort to find a cure.

Again I want to commend my colleague (Mr. Rush) for his incredibly hard work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

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