Some of the celebrity gossip news agencies have published accounts today about pop singer (and mother of an infant and a toddler) Britney Spears, who is currently in a rehab/psychiatric care facility in California. Their stories claim that Spears is suffering from severe postpartum depression (PPD).

Whether or not Spears herself confirms experiencing PPD remains to be seen. And regardless of her diagnosis, watching this young woman's emotional unraveling - while being stalked by photographers night and day - has been heartbreaking. We applaud her family for helping Spears get professional help, and we wish for her a healthy return to her children.

I shudder to think of the way the mass media is likely to spin the PPD story. But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, and they'll handle this story with minimal stigma/sensationalism and maximum dignity! (Pigs can fly.)