Lend your voice in support of new federal legislation known as The MOTHERS Act (The Mom's Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression) !

The bill was introduced last week by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill).

If adopted by Congress, the MOTHERS Act will ensure that new moms and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services.

In addition, it will increase research into the causes, diagnoses, and treatments for postpartum depression. This legislation incorporates a House bill, the Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, which would expand and intensify research at the NIH with respect to PPD and psychosis.

Specifically, the MOTHERS Act will help new moms by:

* Providing important education and screening on postpartum depression (PPD) that can lead to early identification and treatment. A major part of prevention is informing new mothers about the symptoms and providing them with the services that are available in their community. Thus, this legislation includes two grants to help health care providers educate, identify and treat PPD.

* Awarding grants to states, so that local health care providers (physicians, nurse midwives, and other licensed health care professionals) can educate women who have recently given birth and their families about PPD before the mothers leave the birthing center and offer the opportunity for new mothers to be screened for postpartum depression symptoms during the first year of postnatal checkups.

* Awarding grants to states and local governments, public or nonprofit hospitals, and community-based organizations for the delivery of essential services to individuals with postpartum depression and psychosis and their families, including enhanced outpatient and home-based health care, inpatient care and support services.

* Expanding important research to improve and discover new treatments, diagnostic tools, and educational materials for providers. Since the exact cause of PPD isn't known, research continues to be the key to unlocking the mystery of this condition.

So far, the MOTHERS Act has been endorsed by Postpartum Support International (PSI), the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and others.

To read a transcript of the bill being introduced last week in Congress, click here.

To look up your U.S. Senator's office and make your voice heard in support of this bill, click here.