Debbie Dingell: “I support H. Res. 163, which recognizes the debilitating effects of post-partum depression on new mothers, their babies…”

“I support H. Res. 163, which recognizes the debilitating effects of post-partum depression on new mothers, their babies and their families. I want to pay particular tribute to my friend and colleague, Representative Capps, as well as Representative Kingston, for their work on this matter. H. Res. 163 encourages health care providers to become more attuned to the signs of this common, treatable aftermath of pregnancy in order to detect the problem in its earliest days and offer appropriate interventions. This weeks' announcement that the Nobel prize in medicine is being awarded to three scientists whose discoveries have unlocked keys to the central nervous system, including the understanding the biochemical underpinnings of depression, underscores the importance of the mind- body connection. Depression is indeed a physiologic response, and there is no time in a woman's life when her physiology changes as markedly and as abruptly as it does with the delivery of a baby. Set against the excitement of a new birth, the emergence of an unexpected mood disorder, such as post-partum depression, can be frightening and confusing. Ironically, detecting this problem takes us back to the heart of the patient-provider relationship by employing our lowest- tech, most-highly valued tools, talking and listening to the patient.”