brighid

What these women have done has little to do with Christianity. Their very real psychosis simply took the form their brains are most familiar - a Christian God speaking to them.

Andrea Yates was mentally ill BEFORE she had children and with each pregnancy her post-partum depression became an increasingly severe form of post-partum psychosis. Her actions cannot be excused, but let's address what happened realistically and with accurate information.

Sadly, I understand post-partum depression all too well. WIth my first pregnancy I had suicidal thoughts and with my second I would have these really horrible thoughts just pop into my head (I suppose one could say "voices") that scared the hell out of me. Thankfully I am otherwise, mentally healthy, so I knew what I was experiencing was not real, but it was very disturbing.

These women are obviously psychotic and women who suffer from mental illness, particularly those who are diagnosed with it, should either NOT have children or be under the strict care of a medical professional who understands the effects of pregnancy and post-pregnancy on the mental status of woman who's illness can be otherwise managed.

B

Arctish

I agree with your assessment that Andrea Yates was suffering mental illness before she had children and that each pregnancy made it worse. But I think the christian social environment in Texas had something to do with the progression of her illness.

I lived in Texas for 6 years, and they have a very vocal, sexist, and fundamentalist type of protestantism there. Many strongly believe a woman's place is in the home, that being submissive and meek is a sign of virtue in a woman, that Satan has a physical presence in the world and is constantly trying to lure the unwary into sin, that homeschooling is not just a good idea but absolutely necessary to keep one's children safe from Satan and his followers, etc.

Andrea Yates was completely surrounded by these folks. Her parents, husband, all her friends, and her pastor were all convinced of the rightness of this outlook. And when her mental illness caused her to worry excessively that she was a bad mother, that her children were in danger of hellfire and she was responsible, and caused her to become more and more passive and withdrawn (read: meek and submissive) to the point where she was practically mute, the people around her couldn't see anything wrong with it.

She was severly depressed, housebound with 5 kids to care for, and was homeschooling the older ones. She had already had a breakdown so severe she required medication. She had been the primary caretaker for her ailing father until his death which accelerated her slide into despair. And all the christians of her sect thought she was a model wife and mother.

I think her christianity was a factor in the deaths of her children. I think she would have gotten the help she needed if her family had been liberal catholic or Jewish or agnostic.

I don't really know much about Deanna Laney or Dena Schlosser so I won't comment on their circumstances, although I suspect their social network was much the same as Andrea Yates'.

Avatar

My sister-in-law was schizophrenic. Unfortunately she was surrounded by fundies and her symptoms manifested as compulsive praying and religious obesession...so no one thought she was in trouble. Her symptoms got worse fast until finally someone HAD to notice.

Too little too late.

She and her newborn baby were taken in by my father-in-law who is like a black Pat Robertson. He decided somewhere along the line that the doctors didn't know what they were talking about and that prayer was what was needed to help her. So he got lax giving her her meds. Too lax.

One day she decided that she was hopelessly crazy and that her baby has going to be crazy too. She suffocated the infant and tried to drive her car off a cliff. As far as I am concerned, Pop was as guilty of the baby's death as she was. Now she's incarcerated in an institution and is unlikely to ever get out--even with the screwed-up mental health system we have in San Francisco. Pop should be in there with her...I don't really know why he isn't.

Godless Dave

Unless your name is Abraham and your son's name is Isaac.

Gemma addressed very well why this doesn't happen. They do not see the "authorities" as being able to offer any real help, since praying to Jesus will solve any mental problem.

So many believe it that it is part of the Texas state Republican party platform

brighid

I agree it played a role, an unfortunate role, but it wasn't the cause of her actions. Her husband, her preacher and the doctor who disregarded her past medical history all play a role in the death of those children. She might have gotten help in a more liberal home, but post-partum depression (and worse post-partum psychosis) is still one of those VERY misunderstood, often over-looked and rarely talked about things.

B

braces_for_impact

Unfortunately I think this type of scenario is all too common. People do not receive the mental health care that they need. Many priests, pastors, etc. receive little to no actual mental health training, they only receive theological training, if that. When confronted by a truly serious mental illness, prayer and spirituality is used instead of known and effective mental health treatments and medications. While it's true that people can draw strength from their religion and can find support in their religious communities, often this is not enough.

This is yet another case where ignoring the elephant in the living room is to our societies' detriment. If I were to practice mental health on clients using my own methods without formal training or licensing I would be tossed in the slammer. Unfortunately, since the untrained people doing this harm are spiritual leaders, rarely are they held responsible for their actions, much less given a second glance.