Is PPD for real?

[tnvolgalcps]

Back to Texas again...Houston, this time. Do any of you really feel any sympathy for the woman who drowned her 5 children? Do you feel that Post Partum (sp) Depression can be used as an excuse? I am just so shocked at this event that I can't seem to get past my own emotions. As far as I'm concerned, it's murder and there is no excuse.    

[chris68]

I know what ya mean especially since I think her kids were older too werent they? So how does post partum apply here?  Also, they announced this morning on the radio that they think she  is pregnant too.    



But, I think to some degree that it has to be a real thing.  I haven't seen it first hand to know, but there must be something to it.



Chris68



 

[donnap99]

I don't know first-hand about PPD, but I can tell you that people can appear normal to outsiders - even to those who know them best - but be cracking on the inside.  I have one daughter who is mildly autistic - which for her includes depression, paranoia, and a touch of leaving reality at times - so she does things she later regrets.  If she is in a tantrum, there's just no way of reaching her.  She is right, and the sky is green and the grass is blue, and that's that! She's been on various meds, and some do stop working after a time.  I heard that this woman was on meds.



The mind is a very mysterious thing.  I wish we understood what makes the "wiring" get screwy.

 

[radaro]

From what I read about this woman, I think she has a 6 month old so she may still be suffering from PPD.



I have a girlfriend who has always been very upbeat and optimistic.  However, after the birth of her first child, she went into PPD so badly that she had to be hospitalized.  As for my own personal experience, I didn't have PPD but I did have some "baby blues".  Your hormones go completely out of whack after birth.



Heck, people have gotten off with a lot worse for "temporary insanity" but I do think at the very least she should go to a psychiatric facility.

[juspeachy]

I've heard of women becoming extremely depressed after giving birth.  I suffered a mild case of depression after my daughter was born, but by the time she was sleeping through the night, it was over.  I never entertained suicidal thoughts, much less anything worse.  All I wanted to do was sit and cry.  Thankfully, I was able to overcome it without any medication.



I can't help but feel there is more to this story than what we are hearing.  



According to reports, she had five kids, seven and below in age.  The youngest only six months old.  She home-schooled the kids.  She had suffered a serious bout of depression after kid number four was born and had attempted suicide during that time.  Her father had passed away recently triggering another depression and suicide attempt.  She was on several medications to treat the depression.  Rumor has it that she was pregnant again.



If all these things are true, I'm not surprised that she "snapped."  HOWEVER, it doesn't excuse the methodical murder of any and all of the children.  



I think the husband has some culpability.  It sounds like she was only a baby machine for him.  He should have been thinking a little more about the "what ifs" considering her state of mind.  I'm sure he never thought she would harm the children, but I still would have been worried that she might succeed in taking her own life and the pain it would cause the children to witness that.



Just my thoughts on the subject.



JusPeachy in GA

[jahdra]

I read somewhere, Newsweek, I think that she may have had post-partum psychosis, which is very different from PPD. Basically, it includes hearing voices, and having suicidal/homicidal thoughts and it is brought on by the dramatic change of hormones in the body. Also, it can get worse with each successive child, since there is a kindling effect. Only 1-2% of all women giving birth suffer from post-partum psychosis, which can last for years, or, may NEVER go away without treatment.



Anyway, that's what I remember from the article. I certainly think that at the very least, she needs treatment, and I suppose I can't blame the people who think she deserves the death penalty.



Still, 5 kids under 7? With another on the way? Home schooling them, with no church or other support group? With a history of mental illness, it seems like a recipe for tragedy.

[radaro]

I just caught 2 seconds of a news clip yesterday.  The announcer said that mothers kill their children for one of two reasons: selfishness or psychosis.  I guess we know the answer in this case.

[energizer]

RadarO: Selfishness or psychosis?  What makes that "news announcer" an expert on the subject?  I beg here for a little compassion and understanding.  I'm not condoning what this mother did to her poor children, but as one other poster said, there must be something missing in the story as we're getting from the media.



My sister (age 43) has a history of depression dating back to her high school days.  Of course back then they didn't treat it medically -- they hid it if at all possible so as to minimize the "embarrassment" to the family!  When she was 37, she found that she was pregnant.  She wanted nothing more than to have this baby, as she had several miscarriages over the previous 10 years and really wanted a child.  Her daughter happily is now almost 12 years old.  But immediately after her daughter was born, my sister suffered a severe bout of PPD.  She seriously considered suicide, but thankfully thought first of her daughter growing up without a mom.  She called our mother and asked her to stay with her for a few weeks until she felt better.  Mom stayed almost 3 months.  During that time, my sister found a doctor who recognized her symptoms and began a treatment with medication in addition to recommending therapy.  When the depression finally lifted, my sister was able to confide in me about her thoughts of suicide.  She said that the main reason she asked my mom to come was that she briefly considered taking her daughter with her in the suicide so that she wouldn't be left without a mother.  Thank God she realized what she was thinking and was able to counteract her own faulty reasoning by reaching out to mom.  So many times, depression completely blocks out all rational thinking and all the person can do is react to the moment.



According to her doctor, my sister's long history of depression was caused in part by a chemical imbalance in the brain.  She will probably need medication for the rest of her life, although not on a daily basis.  Right now she takes it only when she feels herself starting to slip.  And when she has PMS -- another "real" condition.



So again I ask for a little compassion and understanding for the mother who took the lives of her beautiful children.  My sister and I were discussing this just the other night, and she said that this is something that unfortunate woman will have to live with for the rest of her life.  If she gets the therapy (and possibly medication) she needs to regain her proper perspective on life, just think of the devastation that will always remain with her because of what she has done.  I'm not prone to depression myself, but I cannot imagine living with that kind of horror hanging over my head.



I know this was a very long post, but I just needed to offer a different perspective.  Don't be so quick to judge someone else's state of mind.  Try a little compassion first.



Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.



Energizer

[tnvolgalcps]

I just feel so sorry for the children...to have their lives taken at such a young age, before they have had a chance to live. I just wish that this mother had thought to call someone, too, when she was at the end of her rope and ask for help. We must remember that we are not alone in the world, there is someone out there that can help us...we just have to reach out before it is too late.

[radaro]

I'm sorry if I sounded blunt in my previous posting.  Unfortunately news announcers tend to shorten everything into sound bites.  Your sister was very smart and unselfish in dealing with her post partum depression.  She not only saved her own life but that of her child.



Just in case you were wondering how I stand on this matter, I empathize with the mother.  I feel that PPD is real but I also feel that both she AND her husband should have sought help in this matter.  But I also wonder seriously about the fact that she had to chase down her 7 year old before drowing that child.



I also want to state that it is very easy for me to stand in judgement since I was not in her head or her house that day.  I can only speculate on the circumstances as reported by the media which are always biased and sensation-seeking.



If you read my previous posts you should see that I understand that PPD is real.  I guess my writing style has a tendency to be a bit blunt at times.

[workerbee]

Andrea Yeats HAD gone to the doctor for PPD, and she was on medication.  Unfortunately, as we all know, meds frequently need to be adjusted before the right drug and dosage is found.



Because PPD affects women, it has not been taken very seriously as a medical problem.  Not enough research has been done, not enought public education has been done, and not very many people who have suffered from it have come forward.  One great exception is Marie Osmond, who wrote a book about her experience with PPD.  



We all need to know more about PPD before we judge Andrea Yeats.  There but for the grace of God...



Elaine

[deedeeb]

All I know is, I found myself melting down completely and begging not to be left alone with my newborn and an older child (then nearly 4) because I was such an emotional mess.  I put the crying baby in her crib and called a good friend who rushed over to just be with me and listen and assure me that I could be a mother.   I also remember going to the grocery store when my older daughter (now 24) was just a few weeks old--my first trip out of the house alone after her birth--and abandoning a full cart of groceries because I thought I was having a heart attack.  I since discovered my problem is panic attacks.  These may or may not have been PPD-related, but I know how very frightened I was and how real it all seemed (I thought the world was ending!).  Even though this was a long time ago, I feel compassion for that poor woman even though as a mother, I can't begin to comprehend what could drive her to doing what she allegedly did.  I still think her husband could have been a little more tuned in to her emotional state--being alone with so many young children has to be draining.  

[phoenix55]

I have to agree with all of you who stated the mother needs a little compassion.  And you're also right that the husband must bear some blame in this situation.  Why on earth, after suffering from PPD from at least one previous pregnancy, attempting suicide, would he not recognize the harm further pregnancies could cause her?  Unfortunately, I guess he found out in the worst possible way.   When the media kept harping on how he was standing by his wife, all I could think of was "why wouldn't he?"  In my opinion, he's as much, maybe more to blame than she.



And yes, even questioning if PPD is real has to do with the fact that it affects ONLY women.  Our friends from across the ocean will have to help with this one, but I believe the courts in the U.K. consider it a very real condition and one to be taken into consideration when a mother kills a child or children within a year after birth.



Still...very, very sad.

[countrigal]

I am normally very quiet in this forum, but this topic makes me want to voice myself.



Everyone has heard that suicide is a cry for help.  This poor woman was crying and crying for help.  Where were her family or friends?  Do I condone what she did?  No.  But I hold her family and friends equally responsible for the deaths of these little kids.  Her husband knew that she had problems, was suffering from PPD and other things, and kept getting her pregnant without thought to her body or mind.  She allowed this too.  Then her family and his... where were they???  Where was a kindly neighbor or preacher or anyone?  Have we all become so self-involved that we no longer want to know anything about our neighbors, aren't willing to stick our necks out to offer help to folks we see, maybe a little kindness?  Was there no neighbor who wondered about her after a couple of emergency visits, who might not have stopped by to chat and offer to watch the kids for a minute for her?



I'm sorry but I feel strongly about people who can kill babies, no matter what the reason.  Struggling to have my own makes me want to hurt those who so callously kill such precious gifts.  And it's not only the mother here to blame.



Stepping off my soap box....

[goldenearring]

You should speak up more often.  You hit the proverbial nail on the head.  Consider yourself prayed for for reasons of fertility.  (If you have twins, you can name the girl "GE!")



P.S.  Saw my very first rifle rack in the back of a pickup this weekend, and thought of you!!