Experts examine links in D.C. crash
Dead woman’s mental health under review
WASHINGTON — Lots of women suffer from postpartum depression, but violence in new mothers is incredibly rare, and when it happens, it typically is linked to a different condition. Experts caution against assuming that post-pregnancy mental health problems explain a woman’s bizarre police car chase in the U.S. capital that ended with her death in front of her toddler.
And they worry that such headline-grabbing cases can discourage women from getting needed help if they are experiencing problems after the birth of a child.
“Women need not go into secrecy if they’re struggling,” said William Meyer, a clinical social worker and associate professor at Duke University Medical Center.
“Women who suffer from depression do not, except in really extreme, exceptional cases, ever hurt their babies, ever put their babies in harm’s way.”
Authorities identified 34-year-old Miriam Carey of Stamford, Conn., as the woman who was shot to death by police Thursday after trying to drive through barricades at the White House with her one-year-old in the car. Carey’s mother told ABC News that her daughter suffered from postpartum depression and at one point was hospitalized.
Friday, a federal law enforcement official said Carey also had delusions that the president was communicating with her and that her condition had been deteriorating over the past 10 months.
There are no details on Carey’s official diagnosis or treatment.
But having delusions is not a symptom of the postpartum depression that affects anywhere from 10 per cent to 20 per cent of new mothers.
Most new mothers have a bit of the “baby blues,” occasional feelings of sadness or anxiety soon after giving birth. Symptoms of postpartum depression are more serious and last longer, and they can require treatment ranging from support groups to medication.