Three years ago, an American mother strangled and killed her three kids; tried committing suicide and failed. She is alive but unwell. The case is big news; has sparked discussions, campaigns and even philosophies about women, life, mental illness and families.
You may check details online.
However, in brief.
36 year old Lindsay Clancy (pictured) was happily married and living with her husband Patrick Clancy in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She was a nurse and after the birth of her third child, started having psychological problems. She had therapy and was prescribed various medications, e.g. Zoloft (Sertraline), an anti-depressant. In the West it is common to hear that women experience “post-natal depression” — which includes low mood, insomnia, anxiety and being indifferent towards their baby. By the way, this particular problem sometimes affects young fathers too.
Just a second. Before proceeding. May I ask readers. May I also ask some of the medical writers here on The Arusha News. Is “post natal depression” prevalent in Africa? Do new mothers (and some fathers) experience mood swings, frustration and uneasiness, after birth?
… let us continue.
Wikipedia has a photograph of the children — Cora, Dawson and Callan — in 2023 — laughing and happy. It is eerie and poignant image — very sad because — now we know that the mother choked them to death. A few minutes earlier, she had sent her husband to buy something.
Later the courts would argue she had “intentionally” planned everything. Awareness to commit a crime is called “mens rea” in legal jargon.
After throttling the children attempts at killing herself (slashing wrists and neck) and jumping from the window flopped. She is now paralysed — in a wheelchair. Husband has re-married.
Returning to Africa.
Every time I speak to women in the developed world they praise how “easier” it is — raising children in Africa (and developing countries)…. despite the economic difficulties!
This is because of extended families. You may leave your children with relatives. Communities are “warmer” than in the first world. In Lindsay’s FIRST world it is you, your husband and child, period! Elsewhere, just a single parent. Feed, clothe, take them to school, etc.
Hard work.
No wonder, here, the average number of family households is one or two children.
No wonder, young parents feel “overwhelmed.”
