Advocating for Women with Postpartum Mental Illness

Feingold and Lewis' writing strongly illuminate the need for the United States judicial system to change laws to postpartum legal cases. It is high time to bring MERCY and JUSTICE for those women who suffer from postpartum psychosis. By developing laws that specifically deal with postpartum illness, the U.S. legal system can join the 37 other countries which have criminal law which reflects judicial fairness; educated, advanced, case sensitive judiciary processes for mothers affected by postpartum illness.--Catherine Hunter, LCSW, CADC, PMH-C, Catherine Hunter & Associates, Ltd.

I am a PPD survivor and don't really regret my experience because of the opportunity to meet such wonderful maternal mental health advocates as Susan Feingold and Barry Lewis whose dedication to preventing tragic outcomes is inspirational. Their revolutionary work on laws governing maternal mental health are detailed in Advocating for Women with Postpartum Mental Illness: A Guide to Changing the Law and the National Climate. All individuals who care for expectant and new mothers--whether it be OB/GYNs and their staff, general practitioners and their staff, hospital staff, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, therapists, social workers, and a new mother's family members and friends--should read this book! Public awareness is critical in decreasing stigma of postpartum mood disorders.--Ivy Shih Leung, author, One Mom's Journey to Motherhood

In their book Advocating for Women with Postpartum Mental Illness: A Guide to Changing the Law and the National Climate, authors Susan Feingold and Barry Lewis have tapped into the thoughts that many of us working in this field often try to explain. Their book helps all of us understand the complex world of postpartum psychosis and describes why it is important all of us to check our judgment at the door and advocate for fair and just treatment of women and families dealing with the time limited, curable condition known as postpartum psychosis. Thank you for your thorough and compassionated book on this scary and difficult condition and the legal aspects of advocacy.--Christena Raines, perinatal psychiatric nurse practitioner, UNC-Chapel Hill; vice president, Postpartum Support International

Since we live in democracies, our view of justice is colored and shaped by a democratic bias. The source of right for us is the proposition that all are created equal, and over time we advance and demand ever-greater political and social equality. To see what true justice is, and also what we are, clearly and free of prejudice, we must discover and confront our political (mis)education: we must turn our heads around, see, and cross-examine those hidden puppeteers of our cave. Liberal education is the opposite of political 'education, ' or propaganda: it is education that liberates. It is for this reason that David A. Eisenberg's ambitious book, Nietzsche and Tocqueville on the Democratization of Humanity, is so welcome and needed. In it, he examines the grand democratizing sweep of Western history and its consequences for human life and thought.

They educate the reader on the complexities of incarceration and maternal mental illness through sensitively told personal stories and case examples.--Linda Klempner, chair, Postpartum Support International-Advisory Council