[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HELPING MOTHERS SUFFERING FROM POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

  (Mr. RUSH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that a 23-year-old 
mother threw her three children off a pier in San Francisco killing 
them all. Apparently she heard voices that told her to commit this 
unthinkable act.
  Mr. Speaker, we do not know yet whether this woman suffered from a 
most severe form of postpartum disorder known as postpartum psychosis. 
We do know that postpartum depression and psychosis can emerge even a 
year after a child's birth.
  That is why for the last three Congresses I have introduced the 
Melanie Blocker Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, 
H.R. 1940. My bill would direct funds to researching this misunderstood 
disorder, and it would also provide grants for services and care for 
mothers who suffer from postpartum depression.
  I urge all of my colleagues in the House to cosponsor this important 
bill. What happened in San Francisco happens way too often in this 
Nation, and we must do what we can to prevent similar tragedies in the 
future. The mothers of America desperately need this Congress to 
recognize this deadly malady and pass H.R. 1940.

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