July 12, 2004, Raritan, NJ—The organization known as D.A.D. is asking for help.
Depression After Delivery Inc., a national nonprofit providing support, education, and referral to families at risk during ante- and postpartum depression and related illnesses, is seeking to strengthen partnerships and collaborations so as to reach its 20th anniversary next year and beyond.
Since its founding in 1985 by Nancy Berchtold, a Pennsylvania woman who experienced postpartum complications, it has helped thousands of families with ante- and postpartum depression/psychosis (PPD) that, if unrecognized or inadequately treated, can result in tragic outcomes.
D.A.D. offers a toll-free line, 1-800-944-4PPD, for families and professionals to obtain information. It offers parent packs with national volunteer phone support network and support group listings, a national professional referral registry, professional pack with screening tools as well as publications and an educational video.
D.A.D. first received attention more than a decade ago on the Phil Donahue show. Since then its volunteer board members have appeared on Geraldo, Oprah, Oxegen, Lifetime and other outlets as well as served as sources in Newsweek, Chicago Sun-Times, Parent, American Baby, and other publications. Its board members have authored books, journal articles, op-ed pieces, and other educational materials on the subject and served as expert legal consultants.
D.A.D. responds to more than 5,000 information/referral requests a year and has a family membership of more than 500. Its Web site, www.depressionafterdelivery.com, is an information clearinghouse for families and caregivers alike and receives more than 50,000 visitors a year.
Funding woes
Two years ago, two pharmaceutical companies provided $75,000 for fundraising seed money. D.A.D. paid $60,000 of those funds to a Florida fund development firm, which raised no funds. Currently the organization is seeking collaborative partnerships in order to survive, says Donna Cangialosi, the organization's only paid staff and part-time administrator. "We've invested so much in this organization it would be a shame to simply lock the door and walk away," she said.
Parents say the organization's mission is imperative. Katherine Stone, a D.A.D. member who wrote a personal account of postpartum depression in the June 7, 2004 Newsweek, agrees. "D.A.D. serves women all over the country by serving to provide sorely needed information on the various postpartum disorders that exist," says Stone of Fayetteville, Ga.
"When I went to see a therapist in desperate need of help, she told me about Depression After Delivery and thought I might find comfort with this group. I think it is an extremely important organization, and that every psychiatrist and obstetrician's office ought to know about it. The idea that D.A.D. might go away because of lack of funding is simply unacceptable."
D.A.D. president Joyce Venis says the organization's mission is unique because it directly serves families. "I am greatly saddened by D.A.D.'s current situation," said Venis, a health care practitioner in Princeton, N.J. "Having been with the organization for almost forever, I know its importance. It is so difficult to have trusted supposed professionals to raise funds for us who failed to do so. The money invested is a great loss, but even more so is the faith we put in these people. It is unconscionable for those of us who truly care."
Serving a great need
Testimonials on D.A.D.'s Web site, newsletter and news articles attest to the countless families who, through adequate education, support and treatment, experience positive outcomes. In worst cases severe PPD can be deadly—resulting in suicides and/or infanticides that shake society's soul.
In 2001, for example, five Chicago-area women reportedly committed suicide from postpartum depression/psychosis. One D.A.D. member, Carol Blocker, has led the fight to recognize the deadly consequences of the illness. Her daughter, Melanie Stokes, was a pharmaceutical sales manager and wife of a surgeon who leapt to her death three months after the birth of her first child. The Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill) (HR 846/S 450), has bipartisan support and awaits a full hearing that would help fund essential care and preventative/screening measures. If passed, the Mental Health Parity Act, introduced by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), could also help families in postpartum crises.
Up to 80 percent of new mothers experience the "baby blues," a mild mood disorder that includes crying and feeling low and lasts a few days or weeks. Some 10 to 15 percent experience a mild to severe clinical depression, which may include insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, fears/obsessive behaviors, thoughts about hurting the baby/self or inability to care for self/baby. One or two in 1,000 new moms experience psychosis, a break from reality and a medical emergency.
For more information or to donate to the organization, visit www.depressionafterdelivery.com or contact Cangialosi at 1-800-944-4PPD.
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Sidebar: Postpartum Help for Fathers
Postpartum depression and related illness were recognized as a unique biological phenomenon in birth mothers as early as 400 A.D. by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, however, today's fathers and adoptive or foster parents can also be at risk.
The June 14, 2004 issue of Medical News Today reported that StatsCan Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health and Well Being found that men can also be vulnerable to depression during an exhaustive or stressful transition to parenthood. The article calls men's mental health in general a "sleeper issue" that is just beginning to receive attention (www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=9475). In addition, fathers, may have a need for support and information when their partners are undergoing PPD.
Depression After Delivery Inc. is a national nonprofit organization providing support, education, and referral to families at risk during ante- and postpartum depression and related illness. It offers a special web page for fathers at www.depressionafterdelivery.com. Fathers can request an info pack at 1-800-944-4PPD that includes a national volunteer phone network of fathers, mothers and others.
Fathers can find additional support at the Web site www.postpartumdads.org.
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Editor's note: For more information:
Donna Cangialosi, Administrator Depression After Delivery
908-541-9712; dadorg@earthlink.net
Joyce Venis, RNC, DAD President, 609-683-1000 or other board member through Cangialosi
Carol Blocker, Stokes Foundation, 312-225-1310
Katherine Stone, stonecallis@msn.com
For information about the age group of clinical depression, visit
http://yourdepressioninfo.com/agegroupofclinicaldepression/
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