Home for the Holiday

A frightening story: Rhode Island stay-at-home mom Katie Corcoran went missing on September 5, leaving behind her husband and two sons, four-year-old Thomas and nine-month-old Chase. Family and friends searched for her. Many feared she was dead.

A happy ending was reported in the November 26 People Magazine: Earlier this month, a stranger found 35-year-old Katie living on the streets of Baltimore and contacted Rob through a Web site he had set up when Katie disappeared. Rob flew to Baltimore and asked Katie if she wanted to come home. Her simple reply: "Yes."

It turns out she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare mood disorder that affects only one to two in 1,000 women who have given birth. Although she had not experienced depression when Thomas was born in 2003, within weeks of Chase's birth in January, her husband Rob found her wandering the house at night. "She said she didn't want to have anything to do with me, the kids or her family." She became obsessed with various forms of religion and balked at taking medication and hospitalization. Postpartum psychosis is the same illness that affected Andrea Yates in June 2001, with tragic consequences.

According to one mom who shared her story on Healthy Place, an online resource for depression sufferers, "If I just got up and walked out of the house and never came back again, I really believed that my daughter and my husband would be so much better off." Because wanting to leave or injure your children is contrary to most people's ideals of early motherhood, many moms suffering from postpartum mood disorders feel too ashamed to seek help. Estimates are that as many as 80 percent of postpartum illnesses go untreated. Research has shown that talking about the symptoms and medical intervention are critical to recovery.

According to Pregnancy-Info, postpartum psychosis symptoms can occur at anytime within the first three months after giving birth. The symptoms usually appear suddenly; in 80 percent of cases, the psychosis occurs 3 to 14 days after a symptom-free period, and is more common soon after birth.

Signs of postpartum psychosis include:

* Hallucinations
* Delusions
* Illogical thoughts
* Insomnia
* Fatigue and/or sluggishness
* Refusing to eat
* Extreme feelings of anxiety and agitation
* Periods of delirium or mania
* Suicidal or homicidal thoughts

Early and immediate medical treatment is required.

So, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful Katie Corcoran is home with her family and getting the help she needs. Let's all take a moment to reflect on our friends, families, our homes and our health. And if you're not grateful, tell us about that, too. Because during the holidays, almost everyone feels pressured to be especially joyful -- by endless holiday carols, TV commercials, friends and relatives, and school and work events. During the holidays, whether we are at home or away from home, depression can feel even more shameful. In reality, it is a common human experience.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  November 21, 2007; 7:30 AM ET  | Category:  Moms in the News
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