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SAN DIEGO, Sep 26, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- When a "Dear Abby" letter from a young, depressed mother and military spouse from San Diego generated tremendous response, authorities decided to act fast.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the letter, in which the woman signed herself "Going Crazy in San Diego," and it's unprecedented response, which is leading military authorities to step up the efforts for awareness of services for families of deployed troops.
In the letter that ran in the Union-Tribune on Aug. 24, a correspondent who described herself as a distraught 26-year-old woman, wrote about not wanting to have a baby, her husband's deployment to Iraq and his refusal to have the baby put up for adoption. The woman also spoke of her feelings of isolation and her inability to bond with the child or deal with her increasingly darker moods.
The letter was a wake-up call for military family support authorities and activists who want to avert a tragedy.
The Union-Tribune listed numbers to several family and military support services, including the Postpartum Health Alliance and the San Diego Armed Services YMCA.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
