postpartum psychosis

3 Stories

After 15 Years, Mom Who Drowned Kids Still Shuns Release

Andrea Yates annually declines release hearing at Texas mental hospital

(Newser) - It's been more than 20 years since Andrea Yates drowned her five young children—Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and 6-month-old Mary—one by one in a bathtub, which ultimately landed her in a Texas mental hospital. She's still there—but not against her will....

What It's Like to Give Birth and Then 'Become Psychotic'

Catherine Carver describes her experience with postpartum psychosis

(Newser) - Catherine Carver has a medical degree. She's published a book on the immune system . She never struggled with mental illness before becoming a mother. So she's surprised, now that she's on the other side of the experience, that after giving birth to her daughter via emergency C-section,...

What a New Mom's Suicide Teaches Us

She was convinced she'd caused son brain damage

(Newser) - Experts long thought that symptoms of postpartum mental illness appear within weeks of a baby's birth. But the heartbreaking story of Cindy Wachenheim, recounted in the New York Times , is among the tragedies that defy that theory. When Wachenheim's son was four months old, she began showing signs...

3 Stories