Ever since I realized that my mood swings were actually postpartum depression I've been interested in the how and why medical disorders not only get their name but keep their name.  I recall discussing my medical history with a doctor and telling her that I had terrible mood swings after my second daughter's birth.  Although I wasn't diagnosed at the time, she suggested that, indeed, I probably had suffered from PPD.  I told her that the name should be changed!  I knew there must be other women suffering in silence because they don't even know that it's postpartum depression.  She told me the name had been changed to Postpartum Mood Disorder.   Now that I do research in this area and am more aware I see that perhaps the term <strong>Perinatal Mood Disorder</strong> is even more accurate because it encompasses mood disorders during pregnancy as well.  I wish people would start using these more encompassing terms - because there's a lot to a name.

In fact, the ramifications can be huge and here's an example:

The National Institutes of Health in the USA put together a panel to make recommendations about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  The panel came forward with several recommendations the first of which was suggesting changing the name of  Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  You can read more about that <a title="National Institutes for Health - PCOS - Changing the name?" href="http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jan2013/od-23.htm">here.</a>

Here's an excerpt from the panel's recommendations:

<em>We believe the name “PCOS” is a distraction and an impediment to progress. </em>
<em>It causes confusion and is a barrier to effective education of clinicians and </em>
<em>communication with the public and research funders. The name focuses on a </em>
<em>criterion—polycystic ovarian morphology—which is neither necessary nor </em>
<em>sufficient to diagnose the syndrome. We believe it is time to recognize the </em>
<em>advances that have been made since the description of the syndrome by </em>
<em>Irving F. Stein, Sr., and Michael L. Leventhal. It is time to expeditiously assign </em>
<em>a name that reflects the complex metabolic, hypothalamic, pituitary, ovarian, </em>
<em>and adrenal interactions that characterize the syndrome—and their </em>
<em>reproductive implications. The right name will enhance recognition of this </em>
<em>major public health issue for women, educational outreach, “branding,” and </em>
<em>public relations and will assist in expanding research support.</em>

I'm certainly not an expert on PCOS but I know that it is a complicated health concern affecting a large number of women and has further health implications besides what most people think of as just cysts on ovaries.  Infertility, miscarriage, diabetes, high cholesterol, mood disorder, male pattern baldness, obesity, acne, facial hair are all possible factors related to PCOS.

I am interested to watch this medical name change because I think there is a lot to a name and it will be interesting to see over time if more attention is given