Recently there has been in the news about a mother killing her small children. She was charged with murder. Not too many years ago such a scene would be considered preposterous. We may ask ourselves what could possess a woman to do such a thing. The greatest of all human love is what she has in her heart as a mother for her children. They’re supposed to be safe in the arms of the person that brought them into the world. Let us explore reasons for any remote explanation.
If a woman with clinical depression has babies too close together and the stress of caring for them becomes more stressful, she could lose all perspective. The children are no longer human. They are obligations that can become overwhelming. They interfere with her perceived quality of life. Because these babies are objects to her, it seems logical in her own warped mind to eliminate the problem. If the mother finds another more inviting entity such as a boyfriend that she’s been having an affair with, the problem becomes even more complicated.
On the one hand, the mother looks at an unhappy life of stress and unrelenting demands. On the other hand, she looks at her new life without her children that takes on an opportunity for love and happiness that fills her fantasy desire. To her, instead of providing for someone else’s needs, she is the center of caring. Even though this is pretending, it is real to her. A boyfriend has no desire to be the daddy of some other man’s children, but he is interested in being in love with some other man’s wife. If this woman realizes her new boyfriend only wants her, this becomes another reason to eliminate objects of her stress and roadblocks to a pretend life of love without obligations.
It is completely possible that the extended family had no idea about problem. To them the mother may be a little down. She manages and mothers’ small children. Later the family says they wish they had known how bad the situation was. The husband is devastated at the death of his children. He has a lifetime to resolve any guilt for how he thought that he could have prevented this tragedy. The wife may have thought her husband was of no support while he thought he was.
Had the woman not chosen a path retreating into adultery, she could’ve had resources from a counseling pastor and support of the church family. Had she been willing to gain medical attention for her depression, the doctor could have assessed the severity of her situation. Usually, however, by the time it becomes too serious she sees no other way out and she takes to her what is a very logical path.
To prevent mothers killing babies is for her and the family to have a nurturing and supportive environment that can uphold her against severe stress. That is when the church is most vital for support. She needs to build nurturing into her life before marriage and before birth.
The community solution is to beware the depressive symptoms of a woman as she copes with her problems. Both partners must support their marriage vows. Church fellowship must be rewarding. Family must volunteer for mom to have occasional freedom from the children. Mom must be devoid of fancy that excludes husband and children. She must care for herself so that she can care for someone else. At such a time as this, God’s special love is so important for support. No woman can be taken for granted.
