So I sent this yesterday to the head of the NIMH Women's section:

My name is Katherine Stone … (blah, blah, blah about Postpartum Progress). On Twitter today, I was alerted by @nimhgov to the fact that NIMH has a new website, so I went to check it out. I was, of course, particularly interested in the Women and Mental Health section.

I am glad to see you have a specific section of the NIMH site devoted to women, but was disappointed to see that postpartum depression and related disorders are not specifically mentioned on the main page of that section. I noted that, for instance, depression is listed, but if I follow that link I still don't see anything mentioning postpartum depression. The topic of diabetes and depression is mentioned, however.

I recently asked the question of my readers, do you care what your diagnosis is? The answer – which came to me in comments, tweets and emails — was YES. Women who have suffered from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders don’t want to be lumped in to the larger category of depression or anxiety. They want a specific name for their specific situation. They want to understand what’s happening to them in the context of their lives as pregnant or new mothers. They don’t want to be in support groups for a wide assortment of people with mental illnesses; they want to be in a room with women who understand and are talking about exactly what they are going through and are having the same thoughts and frustrations and pain. I had an inkling that’s what they might say, because that’s the same way I felt. It’s not that I have a problem with any other person with a mental illness, it’s that I relate most to people who are suffering it as new mothers.

I’m writing to find out how we can work with NIMH to make sure that your website offers clearly identified and easily accessible information in the Women and Mental Health section on postpartum depression, anxiety and psychosis, as well as antenatal depression and anxiety.

Oh, and full disclosure, I’m blogging this open letter to you on my blog as well. Thank you for your consideration.