There
is among society today a general, overall LACK OF a "GOLDEN STANDARD" of health care for women during the prenatal
and postpartum periods of their lives.
There
is a definite LACK OF A SPECIFIC DOCTOR within a medical field that should be FOLLOWING NEW MOTHERS BEYOND THE "STANDARD"
SIX WEEK CHECK UP. Women need medical coverage for "always", not just six weeks during the new role as "mother".
I say
the following not out of disrespect for those males in our society who honor women for being the predominant caregivers in
a family - but, "an increasingly, disrespectful male population seems to think that they can do whatever they
want with "their" woman and society should butt its nose out.
I am
calling up all women to report abuse in every form, no matter who does the abuse - friend, casual acquaintance or a family
member:
EMOTIONAL,
PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL A B U S E toward the female gender should not
be tolerated anymore - and as women we cannot afford to continue keeping our heads in the sand and not speak up when
we are violated. When abuse happens to a child too young to know to speak up - "we" need to speak up for that child
and hopefully "before" permanent physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual damage is done.
The
philosophy of some in our male dominated society, women's liberation still has not yet brought about "equal pay for all women"
- is that, a woman is a possession; each woman is an individual with rights, dreams and goals. Let's join RAINN
now in their fight to change the status quo to safeguard all women from unjust trauma and abuse. Joining RAINN
is the best way toward preventing PPD and Psychosis when they are caused solely from trauma that ends in PTSD caused from
past abuse.
ALL
negative experiences PLACE MORE, NOT LESS, WOMEN AT RISK FOR experiencing: Baby Blues, PPD, "Depression with Postpartum
Onset" and PPP, "Psychosis with Postpartum Onset.
These
three postpartum areas are more commonly known as: Baby Blues, Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis,
but to be diagnosed properly is the job of the Diagnosis Code Book, called the DSM. If the DSM's are not sufficient
in bringing about proper treatment - professionals who differ from the DSM's content must get involved with the writing of
the DSM to make the changes necessary for providing a MODEL OF MATERNAL MEDICAL CARE.
How
is it that society has not yet heard that these three postpartum phases are recognized medically as "Postpartum Blues Syndrome".
It can be found in the Dictionary of Medical Syndromes, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, N.Y., 1997, 4th Ed.,
pages 646-647.
Synonyms
used within this medical resource include the following:
Postpartum
Dysphoria
Milk
Fever
Milk
Blues
Psychosis
Puerperium
Depressions
Third
Day blues
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Pregnant
women and new mothers cannot be guaranteed the help necessary to avoid months, if not years of suffering in silence -
and/or a possible catastrophic "family" tragedy such as "SUCICIDE" and/or "MATERNAL INFANTICIDE" without medical
compliance among all disciplines in medicine and the conformity in medical terminology needed to bring all of society
on "one page".
Without
doing our homework, research, investigation and preventative measures - we are relegated to providing women with continued
inappropriate diagnoses and treatment. Society needs to offer a "golden standard" of prenatal and/or
postpartum medical care to each and every women regardless of economic status.
Further, doctors, who when med students, never learned "iota one" about
facts, methods or preventative care surrounding maternal mood disorders, are now the very doctors continuing to
fail the new mothers of today!
So, what are the answers to the present medical dilemna surrounding maternal-oriented mood disorders?
I certainly do not pretend
to know nor do I have all the answers to affect change and to protect mothers, children and their families,
BUT, I do know this - unless society addresses the issues from a "holistic approach", we will only see more women suffering
needlessly at the hands of the present postpartum medical treatment protocol being utilized by OB's, family doctors, doulas,
mid-wives and so on ....
Perhaps an answer lies somewhere between re-educating the "old
school" doctors of yesterday
AND making
medical consumers more aware of the desperate need for an increase in funding for research into "all" possible
causes of known mood disorders that affect child-bearing women and their entire family.
IT
IS PAST TIME TO BRING ABOUT "R.E.A.P."
R.E.A.P.
= RESEARCH, EDUCATION and AWARENESS in the PREVENTION of all that presently takes away a women's right
to choose the health course of her life - especially during the child-bearing years.
I AM
ALWAYS A MOTHER FOR OTHER MOTHERS WHO ARE ALSO WOMEN who have been waiting their whole life to share in the right to have
a "positive mothering experience".
Won't
you please join me in raising your voice to demand better health care for all women, especially women who are under-insured
or who have no insurance coverage at all. It is hard enough for those of us who are so blessed to have insurance - we
too are rail-roaded into believing that America has the very best in medical care. It simply is not true!
D.A.
GRAY,
"Always
A Mother, on behalf of all Women Everywhere"
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