Depression forces mother to kill her only child

A mother suffering from postpartum depression has succeeded in killing her 7 months old baby in the Akyem Ofoase District.

The shocked residents of the community upon strange behavior of the woman realized she has slit the throat of her 7 months old baby and dumped the body in a cocoa farm near the village.

The matter has since become a subject matter for police investigation whiles the suspect has been arrested.

The unfortunate incident is said to have happened in the early hours of February 8, 2021, in Atanurom, a village near Akyem Otwereso in the Akyemansa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The suspect has been identified as Patience Tetteh, alias Mommie.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the area, Ransford Nsiah making comment on the issue blamed the community members for looking astray for the young child to continue being with the depressed woman even after her depressed condition became public knowledge.

He described postpartum depression as a mental disorder that affects one’s mood, loss of interest or pleasure, energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, poor concentration, and can bring about suicidal thoughts.

According to him, persistent depressive disorder, Bipolar disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Psychotic Depression, Peripartum (PostPartum) Depression, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder(PMDD), Situational Depression, Atypical Depression, are types of depression one can suffer from adding that PostPartum depression for women, can make a mother not want to see her baby, touch her baby, and sometimes the feeling of wanting to kill her child.

A research study from the don population-based cohort reveals that a mother suffering the mild form of postpartum depression who might be taking care of a baby by herself without help is quite frustrating, and it is even more frustrating if that is her first child.

Risk factors for postpartum depression, one of the most pervasive complications of childbearing, study further reveals are poorly understood in Africa causing many young innocent lives to be perished for no reason.

Ghana is a country in West Africa with a population of approximately 31 million. There are high rates of both maternal mortality (451 per 100 000 live births) and childhood (under-5) mortality (8 per 100 live births) [14].

According to WHO, only a lesser percentage of patients with mental disorders receive any form of psychiatric care in Ghana which results in a series of dead news of innocent children in the media space.

He further advised especially mothers not to feel embarrassed to seek professional help from doctors specialized in psychiatric whenever symptoms of postpartum baby blues or postpartum depression sets in after childbirth.