Hi, Tom--

First of all, a productive life can be lived in prison. Thank you for jumping to the conclusion that I would release a murderer with a bottle of pills and the admonition to go forth and sin no more.

Second, as far as the "philosophy" is concerned, had she killed her children over a period of time, I would agree. But it was all on one day. Psychotic episodes can last for hours.

Third, thank you for the link to a very insightful article. It pointed out that, yes, this phenomenon is real, and yes, we are all to blame because we all turn away.

Women's ailments are given short shrift over the centuries, because men hold most of the positions of authority when it comes to allocating the funds for research and making the administrative decisions in research facilities. Thank God some doctors' mothers die of breast cancer, or we might not have made any progress on that at all. Women's health is better overall because we will go to the doctor, who will sometimes say things like (I've heard this with my own ears) "the chemistry of a woman's body is a mystery". Goodie.

The misery that women are expected to just put up with because we are women is ridiculous. Why is depression OK, or "normal", because it's tied to childbirth? Is this the whole "sin of Eve" canard all over again? The fact is, this has not been treated like a serious problem because it happens to women, and like so many other things that we just do because we must, we plunge on and endure. This doesn't mean things are all right. Some of us don't make it. Where is the help for them?

For the record, sometimes NOW drives me nuts too. Their behavior and your reaction reminds me of the moral of my favorite of Thurber's Fables for Our Time, "The Bear Who Could Take It or Leave It Alone": "You might just as well fall flat on your face as bend over too far backward." For an interesting view of motherhood's history and social value, try reading The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued by Ann Crittenden [Metropolitan Books, 2001]. She argues, with deep historical, cross-cultural, and statistical background, that the left and the right have both got it wrong. The left is wrong asserting that motherhood is antifeminist and not valuable, and the right is wrong asserting that dependency of mothers is a prerequisite to doing the job well. Try it -- you will be surprised.

As for the idea (reference the first article Phil cited at the beginning of this thread) that PPD has been demonized and now women are afraid to seek treatment because they fear being branded the next Andrea Yates: baloney. What has been demonized -- for centuries -- is mental illness. "Just get over it" has replaced "possessed by the devil" as the attitude copped by society, which is an improvement, but still not helpful to the millions of sufferers. Like many other illnesses, the longer a mental illness goes untreated, the more entrenched it becomes. As long as people are treated like weirdos, security risks, or slackers because they admit to being ill, the longer they will delay seeking treatment. "Not like Andrea Yates" is just the latest in a long line of excuses that mask the fear of being socially isolated because of mental illness.

Just as a personal aside, while I was struggling with my depression, roughly two-thirds of the people I thought were my friends did not call, did not come to see me (I was home, not hospitalized), and acted like there wasn't anything wrong. I asked one of them why she was mad at me, for so it seemed to me. She said it made her uncomfortable to be around sad people. An honest answer, reminicent of how people used to feel about cancer patients, and one I could accept, but indicative of what happens to many, many people suffering from depression. She was happy to see me when I was "normal" again -- an adjective always used in quotes with me. ;) Those friendships have never been the same, because I knew that I couldn't count on them when the chips were down. Why didn't I flip out and kill myself or my baby? That other third of my friends, and my own ability to research, that is, my education.

Andrea Yates will, I believe, ultimately be found "guilty but insane". The 64-year-old mother of five with whom I work (and who also raised her children in similar isolation, but had a little more space between births, another factor not discussed here) agrees with me. She said, with a thoughtful look, that she remembers days when she didn't think she could go on.

Andrea Yates killed her children. She ought to be confined for that. But she asked for help, over and over, and there was nobody there. Who are the accomplices in this crime? Who the hell listened to Andrea Yates?

Regards--
Mary Anne