YES, YO - THIS WOMAN WOULD BE SEVERELY MENTALLY ILL. BEING BAD OR INCREDIBLY SELFISH WOULDN'T ACCOUNT FOR IT - THERE IS NOTHING APPEALING ABOUT EATING A BABY'S BRAIN. AND YOU CERTAINLY WOULDN'T GO FREELY ADMITTING IT, AS SHE DID. SADLY, SOME WOMEN DO GO TEMPORARILY INSANE WHEN THEY'VE JUST HAD A BABY - IT TOTALLY MESSES UP THEIR BRAIN CHEMICALS FOR A WHILE. VERY SAD - GOSH, IMAGINE RETURNING TO SANITY AND REALISING WHAT YOU'VE DONE. TO ME, THERE IS NO POINT HOPING SHE ROTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE - YOUR BRAIN WOULD JUST GO TOTALLY MESSED UP AND YOU'D BE LIKE A DIFFERENT PERSON. FORTUNATELY IT'S VERY RARE THAT THIS HAPPENS. BUT IF YOU WORK IN MENTAL HEALTH, YOU REALISE THIS KIND OF THING CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE, SO THERE IS NO 'THEM AND US' AND 'GOSH, I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A DREADFUL THING'. YOU NEVER KNOW.

i agree. she was completely not in a sane state of thinking when she did this.

I couldn't agree more.

Very true. Very sad, but very true. :(

That poor baby, no child should ever have to suffer like I'm sure he did :( He barely had begun his life...

I agree, I'm sure the mother is mentally ill but really...I don't care if the devil made her do it.

I'm thinkin' an eye for an eye...and maybe make it hanibal stytle?

SERIOUSLY, YO - BECAUSE I AM FASCINATED BY AMERICAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS SUCH THINGS - WHAT IF YOUR OWN DAUGHTER GREW UP, HAD A BABY, AND WENT TOTALLY TEMPORARILY MENTALLY INSANE AFTER THE BIRTH, AND DID THE SAME THING. AND THEN SHE REGAINED HER SANITY AND WAS DEVASTATED AND CAME CRYING TO YOU FOR LOVE AND SUPPORT. WOULD YOU TOTALLY WANT TO DE-BRAIN HER IN HANNIBAL STYLE?

(HMM... I THINK THE WORD 'MENTALLY' IS A BIT REDUNDANT THERE, AS 'INSANE' DOES IMPLY MENTALLY! ;D)

In my opinion, if your having any thoughts like that toward your child you should seek help. Mental illnesses rarely "pop up over night".

If Haylie (my daughter) were to do something like this when she has a child (God forbid) I'd cry for her pray that God may somehow forgive her, but I wouldn't object to her being thrown into prison the rest of her life.
An eye for an eye won't happen in this case, it never does. But if Haylie were to kill her own child, eat said child brains and whatever else that lady did...well... Haylie would be dead to me.

I don't raise monsters. (Only the cheerio eating kind ;))

WELL, THERE IS THE POINT - WHEN IT IS CHILDBIRTH, IT DOES POP UP OVERNIGHT. A PERSON CAN BE TOTALLY MENTALLY WELL AND THEN HAVE A BABY AND GO INSANE TEMPORARILY. THE BRAIN CHEMICALS GO HAYWIRE - IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER. IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE.

OUT OF CURIOSITY (SINCE YOU ARE QUOTING 'EYE FOR EYE') ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN OR A JEW, YO, OR DON'T YOU HAVE A RELIGION? I'M TAKING IT YOU DON'T EXTEND IT TO HOW JESUS EXTENDED THOSE VERSES.

I WONDER IF THIS IS TO DO WITH THE AMERICAN CULTURE OF SUING - THIS IDEA THAT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE EVIL AND NASTY WHO MUST BE PUNISHED FOR EVERY BAD THING THAT HAPPENS. IT DOES SEEM A PREDOMINANTLY AMERICAN THING - IN YOUR LEGAL SYSTEM TOO - TO HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MENTAL ILLNESS CAN AFFECT SOMEONE.

I fully understand that child birth can cause PPD, she said "the devil made her do it". Devil doesn't mean PPD or insanity.
Personally, I think all new mothers should have couseling after giving birth to a child....to avoid any "insanity" or "devil made me do it" deaths

I'm a born again Christian, I'm using the term "eye for an eye" as it means now, not in a biblical sense.

I don't get the whole "suing" thing..."OH MY GAWD MY FRENCH FRY IS NOT COOKED TO PERFECTION I SHALL SUE YOUR ESTABLISHMENT FOR A BILLION TRILLION DOLLARS!"

ACTUALLY, TALKING OF THE DEVIL MAKING ONE DO SOMETHING CAN INDEED BE A SIGN OF INSANITY. I HAVE WORKED WITH SEVERELY SCHIZOPHRENIC PEOPLE, YO. THEY DO INDEED BELIEVE THE DEVIL (OR GOD, OR ANY NUMBER OF OTHER FIGURES) IS TALKING TO THEM, TELLING THEM TO DO BIZARRE THINGS.

BUT SERIOUSLY, YO, IF YOU ARE A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN, HOW DO YOU INTERPRET THE WORDS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, THAT ALL HAVE SINNED, AND THAT CONSIDERING YOURSELF MORALLY BETTER THAN ANOTHER PERSON IS PRIDE, AND THAT THE HUMAN HEART IS SINFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS? AND INDEED JESUS' WORDS 'YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID "AN EYE FOR AN EYE" BUT I SAY LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HURT YOU'. IF YOUR DAUGHTER, WHOM GOD GAVE YOU, WERE TO BECOME SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL AND KILL HER BABY OUT OF PURE INSANITY AND NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT SHE WAS DOING, WOULD YOU REALLY DISOWN HER? AND WHAT IF SHE DID IT OUT OF PURE FURY, BUT THEN WAS TOTALLY SORRY AND REPENTENT AFTERWARDS?

AND WHAT ABOUT YOURSELF - WHAT IF SOME WEIRD NEUROLOGICAL ACCIDENT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE YOU WERE BABYSITTING (YES, OBVIOUSLY THAT IS AN UNLIKELY EXTREME, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW FAR YOU TAKE IT) AND YOU KILLED THE BABY? WOULD YOU HATE YOURSELF FOREVER WHEN YOUR BRAIN GOT FIXED AND EXPECT TO BE TREATED AS AN OUTLAW? WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD NOW HATED YOU AND THAT YOU WERE DESTINED FOR HELL? AND WHAT IF SOMEONE KILLED A BABY OUT OF PURE FURY, RATHER THAN MENTAL ILLNESS, AND THEN REPENTED - WOULD YOU THINK GOD WOULD FORGIVE AND LOVE THAT PERSON, YO? AND WOULD YOU BE PREPARED TO SEE THEM IN HEAVEN?

GOSH, I AM TOTALLY FASCINATED AS TO HOW AMERICAN CHRISTIANS SEE THESE THINGS, YO!

I'm not questioning if she's going to hell or not.

I'm saying, I'd pray for her but she wouldn't be my daughter anymore. She wouldn't be that adorable little girl that I raised into a young lady. She'd be a stranger, and while I'd support her as best I could...she wouldn't be the same, there would be that wall between us.

I personally would hate myself forever, I took the life of another person. Once again, I'm not bringing faith into this.

When it comes to children I'm defensive because I am a mother, I've been through child birth, I know what it's like to be pushed to the edge.
She should have gotten help from day one, someone should have tried to help her before it came to this.

YOU MEAN YOU'D BE EMOTIONALLY SHOCKED THAT YOUR DAUGHTER HAD GONE TEMPORARILY INSANE AND DONE SOMETHING WITH DEVASTATING RESULTS, AND THAT WOULD CREATE A BARRIER BETWEEN YOUR FEELING OF CLOSENESS TO HER? THAT MAKES SENSE.

BUT, SEE, I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU DO BRING FAITH INTO IT. OF COURSE, YOU'D HAVE AUTOMATIC FEELINGS, BUT HOW WOULD YOU BRING YOUR FAITH INTO IT? I ASSUME YOUR FAITH IS YOUR WHOLE LIFE - SO HOW WOULD YOU TRY TO INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR ATTITUDES TOWARDS SUCH THINGS? OF COURSE MOTHERS FEEL TOTALLY PROTECTIVE OVER BABIES AND HORRIFIED WHEN A BABY DIES - AS DO A LOT OF NON-MOTHERS. BUT I'M JUST ASKING WHAT YOUR VIEW IS BEYOND FEELINGS - LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LARGER PICTURE. WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE ALL DOING HERE, AS IT IS NOT OUR BABY - SO WE ARE STANDING AS STRANGERS PASSING JUDGEMENT FROM A DISTANCE, NOT KNOWING THE WHOLE STORY.

EVERYONE STARTS LIFE AS A BABY - HENCE I GAVE THE EXAMPLE OF YOUR DAUGHTER BECAUSE THEN YOU SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE FROM HER AS A BABY TO HER AS AN ADULT. DOES A BABY BECOME LESS VALUABLE WHEN IT GROWS UP? SEE, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALSO LOOK AT THINGS BEYOND THE FEELING OF 'GOSH, HOW ABSOLUTELY AWFUL - THAT WOMEN DESERVES TO BE EATEN ALIVE', BECAUSE AS YOU SAY, FEELINGS ARE DEPENDENT ON YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION AND EXPERIENCE. AND I'D DARE SAY THAT THIS WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE OF BEING PUSHED TO THE EDGE WAS PROBABLY QUITE DIFFERENT FROM YOURS. I'D SUGGEST WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'D DO IN HER SITUATION.

That's very sad that you would disown your child because of a medical condition. It dissapoints me that there's still so much ignorance surrounding mental illness.

You do NOT know what it is like to suffer from psychotic post natal depression, so I really don't think you can claim to understand the position that woman was in.

I'm not saying I'd disown my child, I'm saying it would create a wall between the two of us.

I'm sorry....

"Haylie would be dead to me", just sounded rather like disowning her...

She should have gotten help from day one, someone should have tried to help her before it came to this.

In almost every case where someone was mentally ill, committed suicide, committed mass murder....something.

Someone always says "they should have gotten help." In hindsight, yes. There may have been plenty of opportunities for them to get help, but when it's actually going on, things are overlooked and things get pushed aside, and then it happens, and everyone starts thinking about what could and should have been done, when the time is long gone and past.

"WOULD YOU THINK GOD WOULD FORGIVE AND LOVE THAT PERSON, YO? AND WOULD YOU BE PREPARED TO SEE THEM IN HEAVEN?


May I answer that my dear Puck? For I cannot resist.

Only God knows who will be in Heaven and who will not.
As you stated "all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God"
"The wages of sin is death"

We all love to spout those off. But we forget that we need only ask for forgiveness and be sincere about it and God will forgive us. I think many people will be shocked the first time they go walking around Heaven and realize who is there and who is not :-D

HEHE - YES, YO, I'M SURE THERE WILL BE LOTS OF SURPRISES IN HEAVEN!

GOSH, IT OCCURS TO ME THAT GOODBAR WILL HAVE TO UNBLOCK ME WHEN WE ARE IN HEAVEN, YO! GOD WON'T ALLOW ANY OF THAT BLOCKING NONSENSE - I'M PRETTY SURE IT GOES AGAINST THE HEAVEN ETHOS. ;D

If this were facebook, I would like this reply. ;D

Well said.

Este...err.

Lady Puck.

You make me smile.

How does her saying devil not mean PPD or insanity? Post natal depression CAN be of a psychotic form. I used to work in psychiatry, and I saw a couple of psychotic post natal depressions, and their psychosis was amongst the most severe I've ever seen. Thankfully none of them had delusions or hallucinations which lead them to thoughts of harming their children... but it does happen, and it is a medical condition.

Furthermore, counselling cannot always prevent post natal depression. It is due to a biochemical disturbance and is likely to develop regardless of if the mother has had counselling.

I'm late getting into the "depth" of this forum but I agree with you here. Childbirth does cause overnight insanity in some women. I'm a good example. I never wanted to hurt my daughter, however, I suffered from 6 weeks of extreme PPD and never talked to anyone about it. When I tried to talk to my fiancee he went nuts and told me I was crazy. It wasn't until opening up to my mother that I realized that this happens to some mothers and sometimes medication is needed to help control the chemical imbalances.

One of the symptoms of psychotic illness is usually a lack of insight. Sufferers do not realise that the delusions and hallucinations they are experiencing are not real. Therefore they see no reason to 'seek help', because what they are experiencing is what is real, to them.

You say you don't raise monsters, as if these conditions are avoidable. No matter how wonderful a parent you are, that does not make your child immune from developing a psychotic illness. Honestly, that statement just stinks of ignorance.