- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Parenting
Do you believe Post Partum Psychosis is real?
I know that many on this board think that a mother killing her children is beyond comprehension. The worst crime there is.
But do you believe that post partum psychosis is real? That it could drive a mother to kill her children? And that she could be temporarily insane?
(Yes, these are thoughts from The Good Sister. You have to read it! Amazing!)
Andrea Yates comes to mind. And honestly, how anyone could even doubt her mental (in)stability at the time of those murders is beyond me. She clearly was suffering from PPP. Her husband should be the one in jail, IMO.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Do you believe Post Partum Psychosis is real?
Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes.
Friend at work, his wife, tried to drown all 3 kids. After her last baby she was never the same, something snapped and not she's insitutionalised (sp?). The babies are all safe with the dad but he is FUBAR from it.
~Lisa
Mum to Owen and Lucas
Absolutely. I don't think that most people are pure evil, and you would need to be to kill someone. Especially to kill your own flesh and blood.
I completely 110% believe it's real.
But do you believe that post partum psychosis is real? YES.
That it could drive a mother to kill her children? YES.
And that she could be temporarily insane? I don't know about temporarily insane. I think truely insane persons are insane all the time or on appropriate medication to conceal the symptoms of psychosis. There is generally a record of mental instablity. Treated or untreated, there are many red flags before someone "snaps."
"And that she could be temporarily insane? I don't know about temporarily insane. I think truely insane persons are insane all the time or on appropriate medication to conceal the symptoms of psychosis. There is generally a record of mental instablity. Treated or untreated, there are many red flags before someone "snaps.""
Interesting perspective. I would tend to agree but have to think further on if there are scenarios that don't fit this mold......hhhmmmmm......
I KNOW it's real! In my former career I unfortunately had to go to more than one OB's office and commit a PP mom bc she was floridly psychotic. (with no history of psychosis prior to being PP). ?
?
Andrea Yates---PPP. ??
?
To me that is not temporary insanity. Insanity is a legal term (no one is treated with a diagnosis of "insane.") Insanity in many states is defined as disminshed capacity and not know right from wrong. I think people claim temporary insanity because they are in a "blur" and don't recall "snapping." True psychosis isn't temporary.
Someone caught the red flags and sent you to the OB office to do a emergency detention. As they should have done with Andrea Yates, who had been seeing a psychologist and psychiatrist since her third child and who husband was told do not leave her alone with the kids, she was left for one hour alone with those children and...
the fact that Andrea Yates wasn't hospitalized (against her will) boggles the mind.
the treating psych and therapist dropped the ball on that!
I don't think there are always red flegs for people to be aware of. Hindsight red flags? Yes. Stand alone red flags? No, not always.
I have seen several cases that people have just one day "snapped" with no history. Some mental illnesses just develop that way.
I absolutely believe that PPP is real. I would not be surprised to learn that there was always a latent issue with that person's brain chemistry that triggered due to the hormones of pregnancy and the post partum period and might otherwise have not appeared.
I also think that it's more dangerous in someone who has never shown symptoms of depression prior to pregnancy because I think people don't look for it, even in a world that is increasingly aware of the risks of PPD/PPP. My family has a history of serious depression and even though I've never experienced it, my OB and husband were both made aware of it early on in pregnancy because I was sure I was at risk of PPD because of the family history. I did have a touch of PPD after having Julia, but it was very mild and I was able to work through it, partly, I think, because I was watching for it knowing the family history. When it comes out of nowhere I think people, including doctors, have trouble coping and knowing when and where to step in.
psychosis is just a term for the loss of contact with reality, there are a number of psychological disorders listed under "psychosis" type disorders... many of which are probably chemical or physiological in orientation. psychosis is also caused by some real medical diagnosis unrelated to psychological illnesses... like types of cancer, certain illnesses ... also psychosis is caused by lack or sleep (people in ICU setting, or in the hospital for an extended time who haven't had good sleep in a while just snap. I've watched a person develop ICU psychosis over a few days. it's crazy), certain medications (I've witnessed anesthesia induced psychosis... pleasant people become unsafe and threatening on certain sedatives). maybe the person was prone to depression or anxiety disorders and then snapped. ? maybe it's a person who was used to sleep every night and didn't handle the change to life with a wakeful newborn very easily??? maybe it's some chemical change that causes it in some women post partum. Not everyone snaps... but I do believe some do .... without prior psych issues or diagnosis
there are still a number of people who think of psychological disorders as taboo. think poorly of someone being treated for something like depression. when you have family surrounding you that says that crazy people should be put away, you don't want to be labelled as one and may not seek help when you need it. I feel for the kids who suffer. I feel for the woman who snapped and will either never be "normal" again or who, when they do come to, have to live with the fact that she hurt her own child for the rest of her life. I think PPD/PPA/PPP should be discussed prior to delivery. families should be informed of the warning signs prior to being faced with it.
I thought Andrea Yates confessed to a jailmate she wasn't really suffering from PPP.
But I do believe it's real. I have always scoffed at claims about premenstrual emotional state, until I got pregnant for the first time, and I found myself uncontrollably emotional. I was even more hormonal after both births, and I would imagine those predisposed to psychosis would/could be tipped over the edge.
This, word for word. I shudder to think of what may have happened if MH and friends didn't get me the help I needed after Drew was born.
{Ava 5.16.06} {Ella 12.29.07} {Drew 2.9.10}