Postpartum Progress and Katherine Stone

Postpartum Progress is the most widely-read blog on postpartum depression and all other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. We offer the most comprehensive information available on the latest research, events and resources, as well as an unflinching look at what it is truly like to experience postpartum depression. We are so proud to have reached more than one million people since being founded in 2004.

Postpartum Progress is consistently ranked among the top blogs in the categories of depression and pregnancy/childbirth, including most recently #6 on the 2011 Top 100 Mom Blogs (holy cow!), as well as Health.com’s 12 Great Blogs for People With Depression and Babble’s Top 50 Pregnancy Blogs (we’re #8!). It has been listed among Psych Central’s “Top 10 Depression Blogs” for several years running, and was selected as Fit Pregnancy’s Best Advice Blog. We’ve been recommended by Health.com, Parenting.com, Scholastic Parent & Child, and many other media outlets, as well as by many of the top clinicians specializing in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Our readers include current sufferers, survivors, and providers from such institutions as Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins.

Founder & Editor

Katherine Stone is an award-winning, nationally-recognized peer advocate for women who suffer mental illnesses related to pregnancy & childbirth. She is the creator & editor of Postpartum Progress, and a survivor of postpartum OCD.

Katherine was named among the top ten most influential mom bloggers by Babble in 2011. She was also chosen by WebMD as a 2008 Health Hero, recognizing individuals who overcome challenges and help transform healthcare. Additionally, she won the 2010 Bloganthropy Award, given for using social media to make a difference, and a 2011 Media Award from Mental Health America, given for outstanding coverage and portrayals of mental health issues during the previous year.

Katherine goes wherever necessary to speak about how common postpartum depression is and to combat the terrible stigma related to this illness. She has shared her story openly and written about PPD as a contributing expert for BlogHer, the world’s top community for and guide to blogs by women, as well as for PBS’ This Emotional Life website. She has appeared in videos on postpartum depression for Health.com and iVillage, and her supportive words have appeared on The Today Show’s website and ABC’s Million Moms Challenge. She has personally responded to thousands upon thousands of emails from suffering mothers, helping them to find professional help and encouraging them along their journey to recovery.

Katherine is also the founder of Postpartum Progress Inc., a national nonprofit focused on vastly improving the support and services for women with perinatal depression. Additionally, she is currently a parenting news writer for Babble’s Strollerderby. And she’s got two fabulous kids. In the past, Katherine has served as a parenting columnist at AOL’s ParentDish, and on the board of directors of Postpartum Support International.

Katherine’s media appearances include: Health.com, More, Cookie, Newsweek, Fit Pregnancy, Scholastic Parent & Child, US News & World Report, iVillage, Cafe Mom, The Week, The Huffington Post, FOX5 San Diego, American Medical News, WebMD, Sirius Doctor Radio and more. She has co-hosted Twitter chats on postpartum depression with the March of Dimes as well as ABC News’ Dr. Richard Besser. Katherine speaks widely about postpartum depression, and has done speeches at such events as the Georgia Perinatal Association Annual Conference, Tennessee’s annual Fall Psychiatric Symposium, the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative conference and more. She also enjoys speaking about blogging, and has presented at BlogHer, Blissdom and the Type A Parent conferences. In 2012, she will be speaking at SxSw Interactive among other events.

Prior to becoming a full-time advocate and stay-at-home mom of two, Stone spent 7 years in marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, most recently as Director of Experiential Marketing. She lives in the Atlanta area. You can follow her on Twitter at @postpartumprogr or email her at postpartumprogress [at] gmail [dot] com.

Postpartum Progress Regular Contributors

Kate Kripke

Kate Kripke, LCSW – Kate is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) specializing in the prevention and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is also a Colorado state coordinator for Postpartum Support International. Kate lives in Boulder with her husband and two daughters.

Kimberly Morand

Kim Morand – Kim blogs at All Work & No Play Make Mommy Go Something Something. She is a survivor of postpartum depression, and lives in Canada. You can follow her on Twitter at @momgosomething.

Robin Farr

Robin Farr — Robin is a woman, writer, runner, communications professional, speaker and mom, chronologically, at least. She got mixed up philosophically during her struggle with postpartum depression but wrote her way out of it on her blog, Farewell, Stranger. That experience, and a lifelong habit of finding inspiration in even the bad things that happen to her, led her to a new motto: “Life the life you’re meant to.” You can follow her her on Twitter at @farewellstrangr or find her on Facebook.

Cristi Comes

Cristi Comes – Mom. Wife. Motherhood Unadorned Blog: Motherhood naked, plain & uncensored. Tweets at @MotherUnadorned. Advocate for mental health. Survivor of mental illness, postpartum depression and anxiety. #blueblogger for suicide prevention awareness. Attachment parent. Jewelry designer.

Postpartum Progress Board Members

Postpartum Progress is a program of the non-profit Postpartum Progress Inc. The board members of Postpartum Progress Inc. include:

> Marlene Freeman, MD, is the Vice Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the Director of Clinical Services for the Massachusett’s General Hospital Center for Women’s Mental Health, and on the faculty of the Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Program at Harvard University.
> Susan Dowd Stone, LCSW, is an award-winning psychotherapist, an Adjunct Lecturer in the MSW program at the Silver School of Social Work at NYU, a public reviewer for the National Institute of Mental Health, and an executive national board member of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.
> Brian Stafford, MD, is the Director of the Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Program at The Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado, and a faculty member of the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
> Morra Aarons-Mele, is the founder of Women Online, a digital PR and marketing firm. During the 2004 Presidential Election, Morra was the Director of Internet Marketing for the Democratic National Committee. She is also an antenatal depression survivor.
> Catherine Connors is the Director of Community and Social Good at Babble and a postpartum depression survivor.
> Deborah Rimmler is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Nexant Inc. and a survivor of postpartum anxiety.

Katherine Stone is NOT a healthcare provider. She provides peer-to-peer support and information for educational, advocacy purposes only. Readers should consult their healthcare providers for individual advice regarding their own situation. Oh, and she’s also not a romance novelist.

For media, sponsorship or speaking inquiries only, please call 678-764-2141. All other inquiries should be directed to postpartumprogress@gmail.com. We look forward to talking to you!