A Chicago television station's coverage of the work advocates for women and families are doing in the state of Illinois - and at the national level: "Group Pushes for Postpartum Depression Screening."

Although I cringed at the inappropriate blurring of the line between the (very common) condition of PPD and the (very, very rare) condition of postpartum psychosis reflected in the wording of the headline and the content of the story... I still believe kudos are in order to reporter Sylvia Gomez for for telling the tragic story of Melanie Stokes in a context that can truly have a ripple effect on policy and public awareness. It's a story that can easily be leveraged as just a sound byte, a sensationalistic headline. But what happened to Melanie - and her devastated loved ones - is very real and should never have to be endured by another family. Women like Melanie aren't inherently doomed to lose their lives. They can and must be accurately diagnosed and appropriately treated.

We have to keep working hard to press past the lingering stigma and ignorance. . . one news story at a time, one state or federal bill at a time.