NEWS: Woman Charged With Cutting Off Arms And Killing Baby in Texas

Originally posted by taibunsuu
A psycho has no empathy for others, only self-interest.

While this scenatio with mom fits postpartum psychosis to a T, it's not the same thing as being psychopathic or being a 'psycho' in the sense that you have no empathy for others as you mentioned above. With postpartum psychosis, the psychosis stems froma break from reality - not a cold self interest with no regard for consequences.

Postpartum psychosis is a disorder which includes hallucinations, dilusions, and a complete loss of social function in many cases. It's a very rare form of postpartum depression which continues well after birth, and typically includes a mom trying to hurt herself or the child. These women feel very strong emotions, and often act violently because they believe the violence is in defense of the child or against some imagines forces - not out of icy unfeeling disregard or selfishness.

-vs-

Psychopathy is antisocial disorder where the person is capable of functioning in society, but includes criminal, callous, amoral, aggressive and often perverted behavior with no remorse or regard for others feelings. Psychopaths often do not feel emotion the same way as the rest of us do, and do not express sadness, regret, or great joy.

Psycho is just a root meaning the mind or mental, and is a quick way of expressing a number of mental conditions which are different from one another.

Originally posted by RedBalloon

Postpartum psychosis is a disorder which includes hallucinations, dilusions, and a complete loss of social function in many cases. It's a very rare form of postpartum depression which continues well after birth, and typically includes a mom trying to hurt herself or the child. These women feel very strong emotions, and often act violently because they believe the violence is in defense of the child or against some imagines forces - not out of icy unfeeling disregard or selfishness.

Here is what I think. The above describes a form of schizophrenia.

Here is what I know. when my wife had our baby, she had pp depression afterwards for about 2 months. At NO time did she ever show any symptoms of violence, delusions, visions or anything else. She described it as being sad that she wasnt pregnant anymore. She said that after you carry something in your body for 10 months that has a life of its own, you become attached to all the associated feelings with it. Possession, protection, intense love, all these emotions and more. When a women has a child, these emotions that had a physical connection with the mother, are severed, literally. This lose that the mother feels is what PP depression is.

The lady above was not suffering from Post anything. She was a sick women, probably long before the child was born. I would say that the husband had an idea that something was wrong with his wife, but didnt act on it. Now he is going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

[edit on 11/23/04 by Kidfinger]

Originally posted by Kidfinger
The lady above was not suffering from Post anything. She was a sick women, probably long before the child was born. I would say that the husband had an idea that something was wrong with his wife, but didnt act on it. Now he is going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

See my post above - there is a DIFFERENCE between postpartum depression (what your wife had and Taibunsuu witnessed) and postpartum psychosis. Both are disorders, but postpartum psychosis is much more severe, rare, and lasts many months after delivery.

Husbands can be oblivious to a lot of things, and I've seen many excuse mentally disordered behavior as PMS or just being a "woman." While he may have perceived something was wrong, knowing that she was going to lost it and kill their baby is a far stretch from what he could have rationally expected. This is a tragic situation, but the responsibility here is with mom, and not dad. He will no doubt feel guilty, and wish he could have done something, and that's just part of the tradegdy.

No the problem with PPD is the fact that for most mothers, they dont tell anyone, until they are forced to, either to a friend, or another relative. Then the say they feel better and that is the end of it...until something more dramatic happens. It is just a sad, sick world out there, and surviving is difficult.