Ugly truth of postpartum depression: Woman kills her children, attempts suicide

CAIRO – June 2, 2022: After slaughtering her three children, a woman in Dakahleya, an Egyptian governorate located northeast of Cairo, attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself before a moving tractor, but her attempt failed. She had severe injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The 33-year-old woman, whose husband works as a teacher in a Gulf country, is said to have been suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) after delivering her third child. She left a note for her husband asking him to forgive her. The woman is to be interrogated after her health condition is improved, according to Al-Arabiya website.

PPD is a long-lasting form of depression and may interfere with the ability of a mother to care for her baby and handle other daily tasks. Symptoms, including severe mood swings, eating disorder, and feelings of worthlessness and guilt, usually develop within the first few weeks after giving birth, but may begin earlier - during pregnancy - or later - up to a year after birth.

In order to avoid the recurrence of such incidents, the Egyptian government should take action, Margaret Azer, a former member of the Egyptian Parliament, told Jusoor Post. She emphasized that psychological disorders are regarded as something shameful in our societies and it is easy to deny them instead of curing them. 

“The UN has set a number of programs for women’s health that should be considered by the government.  This woman needs immense psychological support after the incident. Nothing is more sacred than a mother-child relationship, which she destroyed in a moment of madness. She should be taken care of. She is a victim,” added Azer. 

From February 2019 to July 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted involving 120 women whose youngest child(ren) was less than 1 year old from an obstetric outpatient clinic at Al-Zahraa University Hospital in Cairo. The PPD symptoms were measured using an Arabic version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Postpartum depression prevalence among 120 mothers (above the age of 18) was 27.5% in the first year after birth. PPD is a widespread, postnatal mental illness. Many factors may cause PPD to occur. Early detection of such factors can help in predicting PPD development.

Mona Ezzat, an Egyptian consultant of gender issues, told Jusoor Post that societies are unaware of women’s psyche after delivery. “The mother should have her own private space after delivery in order to organize her thoughts, identify her own problems and deal with them without being influenced by the misconceptions of the society,” she said. 

Ezzat called on the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) to raise awareness of women’s psychological health, especially in rural communities. 

“A consultation hub for family, women and child psychological health should be established in every medical center in all Egyptian cities and villages,” suggested Ezzat. She added that NGOs should also play a crucial role in introducing a new culture to the society. This culture should not consider psychological disorders as shameful but to regard them as important as physiological diseases.