The savage dismembering of a Texas baby allegedly by his own mother
this past Sunday is the most recent example of why new mothers need to
be carefully monitored by their physicians during and after their
pregnancies, doctors say.
Although it only makes the news when a new mother harms her child or
children — think Andrea Yates — due to postpartum depression, the
truth is, said one doctor, there are also many cases where new mothers
harm, even kill, themselves in the months after giving birth to a
child.
“All obstetrical doctors that deliver babies need to do pre- and post-
natal assessments of new mothers,” said Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing
editor of health for FOXNews.com. “This is a real disease. It affects
15-20 percent of all pregnant women. And it’s not only dangerous for
the child, but also for the mother.”
Authorities say Otty Sanchez, of San Antonio, Texas, dismembered her
newborn son and ate some of his body parts before stabbing herself
during a grisly rampage.
Police say Sanchez told them she "didn't mean to kill her child" and
that the devil made her do it.
Scott W. Buchholz, the infant's father, said Sanchez suffered from
postpartum depression and that she told him she was schizophrenic a
week before the slaying. Buchholz, who said he is also schizophrenic,
said he wants her to receive the death penalty.
A family member has said Sanchez had been undergoing psychiatric
treatment and that a hospital called looking for her several months
ago. Gloria Sanchez, the mother's aunt, said her niece had been "in
and out of a psychiatric ward."
Sanchez has been charged with capital murder and is being held on $1
million bond. Bucholz wants Sanchez to get the death penalty.
Having a history of mental illness puts women at an increased risk for
postpartum depression. The reported events surrounding the Sanchez
case, if proven true, could point to an even more severe form of
postpartum depression called postpartum psychosis in which women
hallucinate, hearing voices that aren't there.
“Postpartum depression is common enough that any obstetrician or
pediatrician should be alert to the signs of that condition developing
in new mothers, particularly in any new mother with a history of
affective illness including major depression or bipolar disorder, said
Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist and FOX News Channel contributor. “One
of the reasons is that people with depression or bipolar disorder
become delusional and come to have fixed beliefs about the world
around them, which can include bizarre thoughts about their babies.”
Currently, a number of states require doctors to screen mothers for
postpartum depression, including the state of New Jersey, where
Alvarez is chairman of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at
Hackensack University Medical Center.
“In New Jersey, if you’re not assessing mothers both during and after
pregnancy for postpartum depression, then you’re breaking the law,” he
said. “And there’s a group, Postpartum Support International, that’s
working to get Congress to pass legislation to make it a national
law.”
Ablow said it wouldn’t be a bad idea for maternity wards to give new
mothers a diagnostic test before they are discharged to assess whether
they are starting to feel the effects of postpartum depression.
However, the condition can set in at any point after giving birth,
said Ablow, adding that some women don’t feel depressed until several
months after their baby is born.
Ablow said it is important for women who have a history of depression
– or women experiencing it for the first time – not to dismiss
medication just because they are pregnant or breast-feeding.
“There are several helpful medicines you can take while you are
pregnant and breast-feeding for depression, including some of the
antidepressants,” Ablow said. “Not every woman needs to be taken off
medication if she is depressed and pregnant.”
Alvarez, who recorded a government public service announcement in
Spanish on the dangers of postpartum depression, said the signs of
this disease can be subtle, which is why doctors should be aware of
patients’ risk factors for the disease including previous mental
health problems.
Other risk factors include having previously suffered postpartum
depression, being pregnant with multiples, having medical problems
such as hypertension and diabetes, and having suffered the previous
loss of a child including miscarriages.”
Ablow said the following questions should be asked:
— Have you experienced a change in mood?
— Has your sleep or appetite changed?
— Do you have suicidal thoughts?
— Do you have peculiar thoughts about the baby?
— Have you become hopeless or lost interest in your daily activities?
Alvarez added, “You need to ask questions like ‘Do you feel sad?’ ‘Are
you having difficulties?’ And if you’re patient says, ‘Yes I’m having
a terrible time,’ you need to intervene.”
Alvarez said intervention can include putting moms in touch with
psychologists and psychiatrists that specialize in postpartum
depression, giving them information on support groups and emergency
call centers and using medication to control symptoms when necessary.
Who loves ya.
Tom
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