Mother Drives Van Full of Children into River

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Am I reading it wrong or didn't they say the youngest was 11 months? And if my calculation is right, she had the surviving child at age 15.

That's correct.

According to her son she also realized she made a mistake and tried to change her mind by reversing the car. By then it was too late.

Originally Posted by LikeASista

I just can't handle this! Mothers usually have a maternal instinct that protects children, ... unless she's deal with Postpartum Depression of some sort. But this mother had a 10-year-old! I don't know how old the youngest baby was (and I don't WANT to know), ... but I have to pray to God that mothers stop doing these things to their children when there is some man involved. My heart just bleeds for thost babies!

Mental and emotional concerns are not as gendered as people assume. There are women who physically, emotionally, and sexually abuse their children; there are women who abandon their children; so it is not shocking to me that there are women who kill their children.

However, the notion of some immunity from mental and emotional concerns (this assumption is also correlated with race, ethnicity, and culture) is one reason why women tend not to tell people or seek help when they have such concerns. It is not uncommon for mothers who express stress and anger with life and/or raising children, including poor mental and emotional health, to be told "ahhhh, get over it...it's motherhood...you have that instinct...what's wrong with you." People end up crying out in more covert ways such as the ways in which this woman's family saw this woman change over the past month. And she put something on facebook. As always, none of that matters until after the tragedy because hindsight is 20/20.

I (in addition to some other people) believe that women do not instantly have the maternal instinct beyond the biological and physical requirements for getting pregnant, giving birth (for the women who were pregnant and gave birth to the children), and that "other stuff." In some instances, it only appears that there is a maternal instinct because women learn how to be primary caregivers because they have no choice but to learn. And women tend to act as though motherhood is innate and enjoyable even when many women know that it is a frustrating and lonely experience if women do not have an equal partner with them. Afterall, if more women cried about motherhood and acted how they felt about motherhood, who would pick up the slack for the women who don't have fathers who are more than capable of being primary caregivers (or others who are capable of being caregivers without giving the child up for adoption).

Originally Posted by AGDee

Postpartum Depression is not the only mental illness that would lead someone to do something like this.

Exactly.