Depressed woman burns her own baby!

Reminds me of what my biology teacher told me, a mother who was on LSD was preparing a chicken and got confused also, and she ended up putting the baby in the oven. Shocking.

Originally Posted by Incognitas

With Postnatal Depression on top...

And no amount of comment or handwringing will change the outcome.So I think I will see IF there is any organisation that I can give some money to that investigates such cases,plus something to the NSPCC.

Let us know I will contribute also,This thread has really upset me and im sure im not alone

[Bex]

that story really upset me. the social services, the women's family and friends should all have known her mental state and someone should have been with her to protect that child. bit of an emotive response here but: i think the women should be put into a mental institution for the rest of her life. if she's capable of this god only knows what else she is capable of

[zoombini]

Just because someone has a history of mental illness, we cannot stop them from having a child, our society won't let us.

Social services cannot be expected to be with someone for 24hrs a day to possibly prevent this happening, the number of new babies born every day far outweighs the resources available from our overstretched, underfunded, understaffed agencies.

This is unfortunate that a woman who had PND etc has been left alone with this child, but it happens every day (the leaving of those that most need care) and is unlikely to change.

She will live with this for the rest of her life.
I have not seen any mention of the babies father, although I won't say "where was he" as even he may not have been able to stop her had he been in the house at the time.

Putting her in a mental institution is just a way of putting her aside & trying to ignore that she has problems, lock her away & forget her will not do anything but make her worse.

She does need help, care & support but IMO is unlikely to get as much as she really needs.

[allieyoung666]

I agree, PND is terrible, I suffered it twice, I would not wish it on my own worst enemy, the things you feel like doing and have done because of the way it messes with a womans mind. It just doesnt affect you it affects the people who you love and care for. It is one of the more nastier mental illnesses, people actually do think you have lost it when you get it, it was the worst period of my life. There should be more research done on it and the help and support should be there when you need it. I hope she gets the help she needs. That poor child,I hope nothing else will happen like this.

[AndrewJ]

I have just been to shops after reading this and donated £10 to the NSPCC, I am shocked by this.

Just when you are thinking you have heard the worst. Something will suprise you.

Shocking thing to happen, that poor child.

[Bex]

Originally Posted by zoombini

Just because someone has a history of mental illness, we cannot stop them from having a child, our society won't let us.

Social services cannot be expected to be with someone for 24hrs a day to possibly prevent this happening, the number of new babies born every day far outweighs the resources available from our overstretched, underfunded, understaffed agencies.

This is unfortunate that a woman who had PND etc has been left alone with this child, but it happens every day (the leaving of those that most need care) and is unlikely to change.

She will live with this for the rest of her life.
I have not seen any mention of the babies father, although I won't say "where was he" as even he may not have been able to stop her had he been in the house at the time.

Putting her in a mental institution is just a way of putting her aside & trying to ignore that she has problems, lock her away & forget her will not do anything but make her worse.

She does need help, care & support but IMO is unlikely to get as much as she really needs.

i wouldn't expect SS to be with the women for 24hours a day but the women must have, at least, a family, who should have known her mental state and been there to support her.

i'm sorry but in my opinion she needs to be in a mental institution, she will have round the clock care. doing something so horrific to her child has shown that you can not be sure what this women is capable of. i am not saying drug her up so that she is unaware of her surroundings etc but she needs round the clock care to protect herself and others around her

[Chimaera]

Southwark Social Services have guardianship of her now, she has to live in a care home under 24 hour supervision, and they will ensure she keeps any medical appointments etc that are made for her.
From the BBC News website:

Green's estranged husband had been staying with her and the baby in Grimwade Close.

It was while he was out that Green walked naked to a neighbour's house.

It was only when they returned to her flat that they found Mickle with burns on the kitchen floor and the largest gas hob was still burning on high.

So sadly it seems that the baby's father was living with them and this still happened. Post natal depression is a terrible thing.

[punky]

I don't think PND is the cause here. The woman had a "schizo-affective disorder" sincer 1985, and a long history of mental ilness and violence, even before she gave birth. PND probably didn't help, but isn't likely to be the root cause. A mild-contributing factor at best. Most news articles on this, haven't even mentioned it, only the Beeb touching on it very lightly.

And SS should have done something. How on earth can you let a mentally unstable woman be in charge of a baby? Given her history, she should have been prioritised as a high risk case, and if she was adjudged to be not fit caring for a baby (let's face it, even some sane people struggle), then she should have been in care. The baby would still be alive. Would anyone here leave their children in the care of a woman with a long history of mental illness, if they looked happy enough at the time?

[allieyoung666]

But PND can make a mental illness worse you have to understand that. It all boils down to funding. I agree she should have given the baby up and then the little chap might still be alive, but she must have convinced them that she would make a good mother. There is only so many places for mental health patients in each borough. This service does need a big overhall and more things to be done. She probally had a CPN who probally popped in once a month if she was lucky.

[kronas]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

With Postnatal Depression on top...

And no amount of comment or handwringing will change the outcome.So I think I will see IF there is any organisation that I can give some money to that investigates such cases,plus something to the NSPCC.

i had taped the tonight show with trevor mcdonald a few days ago, it showed how mothers can get post-natal depression even a few months after a baby is born, its hard to grasp how this lady did it, but when your depressed anything is possible.
__________________

Originally Posted by allieyoung666

But PND can make a mental illness worse you have to understand that. It all boils down to funding. I agree she should have given the baby up and then the little chap might still be alive, but she must have convinced them that she would make a good mother. There is only so many places for mental health patients in each borough. This service does need a big overhall and more things to be done. She probally had a CPN who probally popped in once a month if she was lucky.

on the show i watched it was a complete lottery of how people who have PND are treated, people in the south or london had the best support but patients in the northern part of the country were not taken seriously at all in one case or support was non-existant.

[allieyoung666]

It is true, I had no help, there answer was to put me in a mental health unit to be assessed. I refused. I used to want to walk infront a bus or any moving vehicle to just escape it, but I would always manage to snap out of it as I was about to do it. And then Paul would help me by talking to me and getting me to admit there was a problem in the first place. I walked out of jobs, I even took stuff once without paying, I did not realise what I had done until I had left the shop, it is so scary. I would love more research and help for these women as it simply isnt there

[punky]

Just to clarify, I am not disagreeing with anyone that says PND is a mental illness. It is and an awful at that.

All I said (or tried to) was that I doubt it isn't the most influential cause in this case. Certainly until any doctors can prove it was PND and not her schizo-affective disorder which lead to her killing her baby.

[allieyoung666]

But what I am trying to say is PND can mimic certain mental health problems and can also make them worse, it can agrivate an already imballanced mind. I hope that helped.

[zoombini]

And it is just impossible & implausable to put everyone that suffers from PND or any depression into a mental institution forever just to prevent the odd case like this.

There must be so many people that manage to get past thier problems & lead a normal life that everyone should be given the chance to attain the same. To make the decision to split a mother from her new born baby, which needs the nourishment & comfort of it's mother must be really hard & would I think take legal action rather than just someone saying so.