Just Say No to the Mothers  Act 
_http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0904/S00255.htm_ 
(http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0904/S00255.htm)  
 
Monday, 27 April 2009, 1:08 pm 
 
The customer base the psycho-pharmaceutical industry is hoping  to corral 
through passage of the Mothers Act is the more than four million women  who 
give birth in the US each year. That number was 4,317,119 in 2007, according  
to the CDC. The Ac*'s passage, after eight years of solid efforts, would 
set the  stage for the screening of all pregnant women for a whole list of 
mental  disorders. The bill has already passed in the US House of 
Representatives and  will soon be up for a vote in the Senate. 
 
The definition section of the Act specifically states that the  term 
**postpartum condition** means **postpartum depression or postpartum  
psychosis.** 
There is not one word about perinatal *mood* or *anxiety* disorders  in the 
bill. 
 
The transformation of the postpartum language in the Act to  further the 
formation of a new cottage industry for treating multiple disorders  can be 
traced back to websites such as Postpartum Progress, Postpartum Support  
International, and a site called PerinatalPro, which leads directly to the  
treatment center owned by the site*s creator Susan Stone. 
 
On January 26, 2009, Susan cranked out an announcement on the  internet 
with the headline: **U.S. Senator Robert Menendez reintroduces  important 
postpartum depression legislation in Senate today!!** 
 
However, in Stone*s message to the pubic the **postpartum  depression** in 
the headline suddenly transforms into **perinatal mood  disorders,** and she 
warns of a crisis of epidemic proportions in stating: 
 

**The statistics we have on the numbers of women suffering  from perinatal 
mood disorders (which range from 12 - 22% in the research) easily  exceed 
the incidence associated with a public health crisis.** **And remember,**  she 
says, **these statistics, do NOT include the suffering of women who  
miscarry, endure stillbirths, give up babies for adoption or terminate  
pregnancies, all of whom are also susceptible to these devastating disorders 
and  
whose circumstances are included in the furthering of research and support 
being 
 sought.** 
 
In her message, Susan reports: **Today, I had the joy of  participating in 
a conference call with the office of Senator Menendez and the  other 
organizational sponsors of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act where we  
received a heads up that U.S. Senator Robert Menendez was hoping to reintroduce 
 
the bill today.** 
 
While the Mothers Act refers to helping women with postpartum  depression 
and psychosis only, the bill*s top promoters, obviously kept in the  loop by 
the main sponsor in the Senate, clearly have a larger customer  recruitment 
scheme in the works. 
 
On a Postpartum Progress page with a heading, **WHAT IS WRONG  WITH ME?!**  
the website*s creator, Katherine Stone, explains that the word  perinatal 
**refers in this case to the period during and after pregnancy.** 
 
**Among the mental disorders women face during this time,  there are two 
main types: anxiety disorders and mood disorders,** she advises. 
 
**Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder,  obsessive 
compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic  disorder,** she 
reports. 
 
**Mood disorders include depression, bipolar disorder and  psychosis,** she 
explains. Under the heading **Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress  Disorder,** 
she writes: 
 

**All you have to do to be at risk for getting postpartum  PTSD is to have 
the perception of a traumatic childbirth -- in other words, even  if your 
doctors and nurses feel that everything went fairly normally, if it was  
upsetting and scary and unexpected to you that*s what counts.**  She  concludes 
with the misleading statement that, **all of these illnesses are  completely 
treatable.** 
 
Katherine*s bio claims she **is a nationally-recognized,  award-winning 
advocate for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.** 
 
In the Menendez press release on January 26, 2009, there was  no mention of 
*mood* and *anxiety* disorders. If he was not in on this disease  mongering 
plot, he would have told these two broads to knock it off by now. 
 
Drugging for profit 
 
Although no psychiatric drug has been FDA approved as safe for  use by 
pregnant and nursing mothers, the treatment for all the perinatal mental  
disorders calls for the new generation of antidepressants, along with atypical  
antipsychotics and epilepsy drugs, now commonly referred to as **mood  
stabilizers.**
 
The atypical antipsychotics are Seroquel by AstraZeneca,  Risperdal and 
Invega marketed by Janssen, a division of Johnson & Johnson,  Geodon by Pfizer, 
Abilify from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis* Clozaril, and Eli  Lilly*s 
Zyprexa. The average price for these drugs on DrugStore.com is about  $900 for 
a hundred pills. 
 
The SSRI and SNRI antidepressants include GlaxoSmithKline*s  Paxil and 
Wellbutrin, Pfizer*s Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro from Forest Labs,  Luvox by 
Solvay, Wyeth*s Effexor and Pristiq, and Lilly*s Prozac, Cymbalta, and  
Symbyax, 
a pill with Zyprexa and Prozac combined. The price of these drugs, on  
average, is about $300 for ninety pills at DrugStore.com. 
 
On March 23, 2009, Philip Dawdy reported on the popular  website Furious 
Seasons, that **in a sign of just how bizarre things have gotten  in DC, the 
FDA today approved Symbyax for treatment resistant depression,  meaning 
depression that hasn*t responded to two anti-depressants.** 
 
**So the FDA just approved a drug that*s known to cause  diabetes, epic 
weight gain and suicidality to treat depression,** he said.  **This makes so 
much sense!** 
 
The antipsychotics are now the top money-makers. In overall  prescription 
sales in the US, they led all classes of drugs in 2008, with sales  of $14.6 
billion, according to IMS Health. Anticonvulsants came in fourth with  $11.3 
billion in sales, followed by antidepressants at fifth with sales of $9.6  
billion. 
 
The Epilepsy Foundation estimates that one million women in  the US have 
epilepsy, but the number of women taking anticonvulsants is reported  to be 
two to three times higher than women with epilepsy. The prices for these  
drugs can run as high as $929 for 180 tablets of Glaxo*s Lamictal, and $1170 
for 
 180 tablets of J&J*s Topamax. 
 
Numerous recent reports have linked the use of drugs such as  Depakote, 
Neurontin, Lamictal and Tegretol with not only suicide but also birth  defects, 
including heart defects, brain damage, and mental retardation. 
 
Big Pharma funds Mothers Act  supporters 
 
As of April 9, 2009, the groups supporting the Mother*s Act  listed on 
PerinatalPro with Big Pharma funding traceable through their annual  reports 
and 
the grant reports of Eli Lilly and Pfizer for 2007 and 2008, include  the 
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Psychiatric  
Association, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, Children’s  
Defense Fund, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, March of Dimes, Mental  
Health America (MHA), National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), 
National  Association of Social Workers, National Council for Community 
Behavioral 
 Healthcare, and the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA. 
 
Pfizer*s 2008 grant report shows the Association of Maternal  and Child 
Health Programs, received $10,000 for **General Operating Support.**  Florida*s 
Bureau of Maternal and Child Health received funding from Lilly  and Pfizer 
to launch a three-pronged maternal depression awareness initiative  
consisting of education, screening and advocacy, according to the July, 2005  
paper, Improving Maternal and Infant Mental Health: Focus on Maternal  
Depression, by Ngozi Onunaku. 
 
Collaborating partners also included the American College of  Obstetricians 
and Gynecologists, University of Miami, and Florida*s Department  of Mental 
Health, Onunaku reports. Public awareness efforts reached the Florida  
State Legislature, who passed a resolution to establish April as women*s  
depression screening month. 
 
Onunaku listed the Lilly and Pfizer funded Florida project as  an example 
of state and community efforts that may be useful in reaching the  goal of 
increasing maternal depression awareness. In the paper, he reported the  
following: 
 
**Prenatal depression occurs during pregnancy when  mothers-to-be 
experience hormonal and biological changes, stress, and the  demands of 
pregnancy. 
Approximately 14-25% of pregnant women have enough  depressive symptoms to 
meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis. 
 
**The use of medication to treat maternal depression is  controversial; 
there is concern about mothers taking medication during pregnancy  and after 
delivery, especially while breastfeeding. Research suggests that  infant 
development is not adversely affected by certain kinds of medication. 
 
**There is equal consideration regarding the possible risks  posed to a 
child whose mother is severely depressed and needs medication but  remains 
untreated. 
 
In 2008, Lilly gave the American College of Obstetricians and  
Gynecologists $16,000, and a $2,000 donation was made in the third quarter of  
2007. 
 
Lilly gave the American Psychiatric Association grants worth  more than 
$600,000 in both the first and second quarters of 2008. In 2007, the  group 
received over $400,000 from Lilly. The drug maker gave roughly $450,000  more 
to the American Psychiatric Foundation for the APA fellowship program.  
Pfizer donated more than $700,000 to the "non-profit" APA in 2008. 
 
The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare is  described as 
"a non-profit association representing 1,300 mental health and  addictions 
treatment and rehabilitation organizations," on its website. This  gang 
received $200,000 from Lilly in the first quarter of 2008, and another  
$215,000 
in the fourth quarter. 
 
Mother*s Act supporter, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA,  has merged 
with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, according to a  
November 6, 2008 press release announcement. 
 
A year earlier, Emory University reported that Charles  Nemeroff had been 
elected president of the American Foundation for Suicide  Prevention and 
would begin serving his three-year tenure in January 2008. 
 
Emory*s press release noted that Nemeroff had served on the  AFSP*s 
national board of directors since 1999 and had "been a member of the  
Foundation*s 
Scientific Council for more than 10 years and was named chair of  the 
Council in 2007.** 
 
In about the same time frame between 2000 and 2007, Senator  Charles 
Grassley*s Senate Finance Committee investigation found that Nemeroff  had 
earned 
more than $2.8 million from drug companies, but failed to disclose at  least 
$1.2 million to Emory. 
 
On November 3, 2008, Dr Bernard Caroll summed up Nemeroff*s  fall from 
grace on the Healthcare Renewal website as follows: 
 
**The fallout to date includes his severance from several  NIH-funded 
projects at Emory University School of Medicine, a freeze of NIH  funding for a 
major center grant, and his stepping down from Emory’s chair of  psychiatry 
while an internal investigation proceeds.** 
 
Dr. Nemeroff*s credibility is under a cloud, to say the least,  and his 
influence is rapidly waning. ... In the hardnosed, commercial world of  
Continuing Medical Education, for instance, the signs are that Dr. Nemeroff is  
toast. Whereas he once coordinated multi-city traveling CME road shows and a  
parade of spots on CME websites like Medscape, his profile now is suffering. 
Go  to this Medscape website, for instance. You will find that his current 
Expert  Viewpoint spots are missing, replaced by the message, **This article 
is  temporarily unavailable.** 
 

Nemeroff*s Bio on the Emory Website on December 22, 2008  listed his 
Clinical Interests as: **Depression and antipsychotic pharmacological  therapy, 
social phobias, fetal effects of pre- and post-natal drug therapy,  
depression, mood disorders, antipsychotic therapy.** 
 
Lilly*s 2008 grant report shows the Suicide Prevention Action  Network USA 
received one $10,000 grant and another $70,000 grant. The American  
Foundation for Suicide Prevention also received three grants worth $78,000. 
 
Lilly*s 2007 report shows the Action Network received $10,000  in one 
quarter and $70,000 in another. The Foundation got $25,000 in 2007. The  2004 
spring issue of USA*s Network News reports that: **Network News is funded  by a 
grant from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.** 
 
The Summer 2005 Network News noted that **Donations Sustain  SPAN USA.** 
 
The donor list shows Pfizer gave over $10,000. The group  received more 
than $1,000 from Bristol-Meyers, Janssen, and Novartis. Forest  Pharmaceuticals 
gave over $500. 
 
The 2006 Spring Network News announced the **Friend for Life**  sponsors. 
Forest and the industry*s trade group, PhRMA donated over $15,000.  Pfizer 
gave between $10,000 and $14,999. Solvay was listed as giving between  $6,000 
and $9,999 and companies that gave between $2,000 and $5,999 were  
AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers. J&J, Lilly and Novartis each donated between  
$500 and 
$1,999. 
 
As expected, the two most notorious front groups, NAMI and  MHA, received 
the most money from psychiatric drug makers. NAMI's annual reports  list 
about every drug company on the planet as a corporate partner without  
specifying how much each donated. But the grant reports of Lilly and Pfizer for 
 2007 
and 2008 show NAMI groups received millions of dollars from those two drug  
makers alone. 
 
In the fourth quarter of 2008, Pfizer gave NAMI a grant of  $132,000 to 
fund a campaign that best describes the drug maker's goal called the  
**Campaign for the Mind of America.** In the third quarter, Pfizer doled out  
another 
$225,000 to fund the same campaign. 
 
Lilly is also funding the Campaign for the Mind, with grants  of $450,000 
in both 2007 and 2008. Lilly also provides extra funding to NAMI  groups all 
over the country for the **Walk for the Mind of America.** In 2007,  walking 
money totaled $17,000 in the first quarter, $11,500 in the second, and  
$13,000 for the third and fourth combined. In 2008, Lilly*s **Walk for the  
Mind** quarterly totals were $11,500, $24,000, $12,500 and $2,000. 
 
In 2007, NAMI presented a $50,000 **Mind of America Scientific  Research 
Award** to Dr A John Rush. He also landed on the Grassley hit list last  fall 
for not disclosing drug company money to the University of Texas. 
 
On April 6, 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to NAMI  asking for the 
disclosure of all funding from drug makers and industry created  foundations 
over the past few years. 
 
Mental Health America groups also received millions of dollars  from Pfizer 
and Lilly alone in 2007 and 2008. This group runs a **Campaign for  
America*s Mental Health** and received grants of $200,000 and $300,000 in 2008  
from Pfizer to fund it. Lilly gave $300,000 to fund this Campaign in 2007. 
 
MHA*s 2006 annual report shows the group received over $1  million each 
from Lilly, Bristol-Myers, and Wyeth. Janssen and Pfizer gave  between $500,000 
and $1,000,000, and AstraZeneca and Forest donated between  $100,000 and 
$499,000. Glaxo gave between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2006. 
 
The most troubling donation to this Mothers Act supporter is a  $20,000 
Pfizer grant to a Georgia group to fund: Project Healthy Moms: Education  for 
Prevention/Treatment for Perinatal Depression Disorders, which apparently  
ended up, at least in part, in the pocketbook of Katherine Stone. 
 
The Georgia group*s June 8, 2008 e-news said the grant was  for: **Project 
Healthy Moms: What You Need To Know About Perinatal Mood  Disorders.** 
 
The $20,000 funded 1-hour speaking events with Katherine,  **aimed at 
educating practitioners and the general public throughout Georgia  about 
prevention of and treatment for such illnesses as ante partum depression,  
postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety/OCD and postpartum psychosis,** the  
newsletter said. 
 
Katherine was described as a **former postpartum OCD sufferer  and author 
of Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog in the United  States on 
postpartum mood disorders.** 
 
E-news said attendees would learn: **One size does NOT fit  all: Why 
postpartum depression is just part of a spectrum of mood disorders  women may 
experience & what to look for.** 
 
The newsletter only listed 5 scheduled events but told readers  to contact 
Katherine directly by email or phone to schedule more. E-news did  
acknowledge that: **This special hour of learning is made possible by a grant  
from 
Pfizer,** but listed no amount. 
 
The leaders of these **non-profits** are also making out like  bandits. In 
2006, NAMI*s top dog, Michael Fitzpatrick, had a salary of $212,281,  and 
$10,090 in employee benefit contributions and deferred compensation plans,  
for a 35-hour work week. 
 
MHA*s 2002 tax returns show the CEO and President, Michael  Faenza, 
received compensation of $306,727, and another $35,275 in contributions  to 
employee benefit plans and deferred compensation that year, for a 35 hour  work 
week. 
 
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance received $37,510  from Lilly in 
2007 and $20,000 in 2008. This group provides live links to form  letters 
that can be filled in and sent to Congress members asking them to vote  for 
the Mother*s Act. The two Stone gals provide links to the Mothers Act alerts  
put out by the Alliance on their websites. 
 
The group*s 2007 Annual Report shows this non-profit received  between 
$150,000 and $499,000 from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Wyeth. Abbott,  Cyberonics, 
Lilly, Forest, Glaxo, Organon, and Otsuka American Pharmaceuticals  gave 
between $10,000 and $149,999. 
 
The report also notes that a **First-ever DBSA Hope Award**  for lifetime 
achievement was presented to Frederick Goodwin. Back in August  2002, the 
speakers at the annual conference of the Alliance included three stars  from 
the Grassley hit list, Goodwin, Nemeroff and Joseph Beiderman. 
 
The front groups team up with a **non-profit** called  **Screening for 
Mental Health,** to carry out mental illness screening days all  over the 
country every year. Their websites also provide live links to internet  
screening 
programs set up by this firm. 
 
Up to 2008, the SMH had received close to $5 million from drug  companies. 
Lilly gave the firm $124,000 in 2007 and $100,000 in 2008. 
 
Finally, the Children*s Defense Fund received a grant for  $125,000 in 2003 
from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The March of Dimes got  $6,500 
from Pfizer in 2008, and the National Association of Social Workers also  
received $7,500 from Pfizer. 
 

Amy Philo, a young Texas mother who survived what can only  be described as 
a postpartum ambush by the psycho-pharmaceutical cartel, is at  the 
forefront of the **Unite for Life** coalition fighting against the Mothers  
Act. As 
of April 25, 2009, the Unite coalition had thirty-five orginazations  
signed on as opposed to the legislation. Needless to say, none of them were  
listed in the grant reports of Lilly or Pfizer. 
 
Amy was screened and drugged because she got extremely  concerned about her 
baby and had a panic attack after watching him nearly choke  to death. **I 
lived through forced hospitalization, drugging, and four months of  being 
homicidal, suicidal, and psychotic because of Zoloft,** she recounts on  her 
website. 
 
**No mother should have to live through what I have,** she  states. 
 
Over a recent three to four year period, Amy found there were  1,031 
documented deaths of babies caused by psychiatric drug exposure reported  to 
the 
FDA*s MedWatch system. 
 
Amy recently learned that the National Association of  Certified 
Professional Midwives has withdrawn their support from the Mothers  Act. 
However, she 
reports a new addition to the list of supporters is the  National Healthy 
Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. A quick check of their  website found the 
group*s corporate sponsors include Wyeth, Glaxo, J&J,  Merck, and Sanofi 
Pasteur. 
 

************* 
 
Evelyn Pringle 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])  
 
(This article was sponsored by the Pogust, Braslow &  Millrood law firm in 
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) 
 
(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Scoop Independent News and  an 
investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and  
corporate 
America)
 (http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm)  
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