Last week, we watched a story unfold about a woman who was shot dead at after a bizarre car chase in Washington, D.C. Details were very fuzzy as the news initially reported who 34-year-old Miriam Carey was and what could have been her motive for driving erratically with her child in the car. Various stations speculated there may have been mental health issues surrounding her delusions of President Obama stalking her. Carey’s mother and sister have both come out to the media, stating that she was suffering from postpartum depression with psychosis.
Symptoms of postpartum psychosis include disorientation, hallucinations, paranoia, and attempts to harm your baby or yourself. In December, Carey told police that she believed “President Obama would place the city of Stamford under a ‘lockdown’ and that he had her and her residence under electronic surveillance.” Discoveries in her apartment led officials to believe her mental state was deteriorating over time, but she had not been hospitalized for the issue.
Postpartum psychosis is a separate disorder from postpartum depression or baby blues. Both disorders affect a mother’s bonding with her child, as well as functioning from day to day. It usually sets in about two weeks after childbirth and could last up to a year. According to the American Psychological Association (APA) 9-16% of women will experience PPD. Women living in large cities are more likely to experience it than women living in rural areas.
An article in the Journal of Cultural Diversity that covered postpartum depression in African American women stated,
Participants suggested that depression was something that would not be disclosed readily among African-American people (or outsiders) because of the stigma attached to it and the negative consequences.
These negative consequences include past atrocities encountered by African-American people in health care systems, particularly mental health institutional systems where African-American children were taken from their mothers, and other stigmas regarding African-American women’s care of their children.
This unfortunate incident is an eye opener for a conversation that desperately needs to be had surrounding mental health and the black community. I personally don’t know any women in my circle who have admitted to suffering from PPD, but I know they are out there. We can help by educating ourselves about the problem, offering support if your loved one may be having the baby blues, and seeking help that is available if you’re experiencing the symptoms.
How can we deal with PPD better in our community?