If voices in your head told you to kill your children, would you do it? Andrea Yates is famous for drowning all five of her children in the bathtub of their home. Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary had very short lives. The worst part is they did nothing to deserve it. The case of Andrea Yates has ended, but is nowhere near being forgotten.
Andrea Pia Kennedy was born on July 2nd, 1964 in Houston, Texas. Being the youngest of five, Andrea was very driven as a child. The Kennedy family was middle class and catholic. (McLellan, 2006). Growing up, she became close to her father Andrew. Andrew Kennedy was a high school teacher and raised his daughter to help others (Ramsland, 2003). Andrea had a normal childhood and was a very successful student.…show more content… Postpartum Psychosis is when women start to have major depressive episodes after childbirth, and occurs when there is a rapid change in hormonal environment. Symptoms of this disorder include: delusions, hallucinations, a lack of insight, disorganized thinking, grossly or abnormal behavior, anxiety, and negative actions. The delusions that are a part of these symptoms commonly include the baby itself. About fifty percent of these episodes tend to begin during the pregnancy, or four weeks following the delivery. Postpartum Psychosis appears in the most demanding part of a woman's life, unlike clinical depression, which can occur at any time (Kleinman & Raskin, 2013). The symptoms occur rapidly, which is what makes Postpartum so severe. If untreated, or improperly treated, it can last for a few months or even longer. The women have a high chances of becoming infanticidal, the killing of children under 12 years old, or suicidal. Postpartum is frequently based on family history. In the case of Andrea Yates, depression and bipolar ran in her family. The two most common disorders to onset Postpartum are in fact depression and bipolar. There are three stages of Postpartum Psychosis: postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis. Postpartum blues is the first stage that begins with feelings of sadness directly after the baby is born. These feelings can either go away, or rapidly get worse. The next stage,…show more content… All five children are buried together at the Forest Park East Cemetery in Webster, Texas. Rusty Yates filed for divorce in 2004, has since remarried to , and had a newborn child in 2008. He says that he cannot blame Andrea, but instead he blames her illness (Ramsland, 2003). The murder of the Yates children could have been prevented if the adequate amount of help was received. Rusty, Rusty’s parents, and Yates’ parents were aware that she was not taking her medication. When being released from the hospital, it was apparent that Yates did not need the help she was getting. She made it seem like she wanted to recover and this is why she kept the visions and behaviors to herself. She wanted to be a good mother. The sentence was fitting because Yates was not completely at fault for her actions. Having the mental illness that she did, made her think that killing the children was the only way to save them. The rest of her life will be spent in the Texas state penitentiary until