Mother jumps from roof while holding 17-day-old baby

Depressing to read. Mental healthcare in Japan needs a drastic upgrade.

That's three mothers that have jumped from rooftops with their children in the last two months. As much as I hate to say it, they are gonna have to stop publicising these murder-suicides in an attempt to curb copycats.

Yeah, you can blame post birth trauma if you like, but the mental and emotional issues for these people started long before they became mothers.

Sad news

And please dont use Post Natal Depression as an excuse. Millions of women suffer it and they dont do things like this. Something else going on psychologically.

How do you know it wasn't PND, and that it was something else? This article doesn't give enough info to make that judgement, so where are you getting your information?

What ever fools call post natal depression an "excuse" have never experienced it nor understand mental health troubles at all. It is a very destructive force in a woman's mental health. Unknown to me at the time this can be a life long affliction. In this woman's case she has made a horrible mistake that will probably reinforce the depression for the rest of her life until she succeeds at taking her own life.

geez..please stop the killing of children!!!!!! Give them a chance to LIVE!!!

Wow another one!!! I think Japan should seriously think about their adoption laws. IF they can do this at least these women can have other alternatives in giving up an innocent child. I don't know what was going on in the mothers life to make her want to end it all in just a fall, only she knows but for the rest of her torn life she will never be the same mentally or physically. I hope she gets some help I don't think she needs to be locked up but she needs some psychological help. Last but not least I pray that the little bundle of joy can rest in peace!

And once again you assume they were not and jump to defend murderers

I have? How did I do that when the only comment I made in this thread was the one concerning your assumption?

or at least won't entertain the possibility that some if not all of these women know exactly what they were doing

Where did you ever get that idea? I'm sure some of them, and potentially all of the recent ones, were able to determine right from wrong. But the fact is that a short news story isn't enough to determine whether these women were in their right minds or not, which is why I don't condemn or make excuses for any of them. You however condemn all of them without knowing the details. So while you are criticizing me for supposedly excusing all of them (something I haven't done), you in turn condemn all of them, without having enough information to be able to make an accurate judgement. You refuse to even consider that they may not be in their right minds.

She knew she could have gotten help

How do you know? Are you privy to some information other than what is in this article? Because you cannot know this with the information we've been given here.

and knew she was suffering from depression or something else -- or else she would not tried to have jumped. You don't want something to end without knowing you want that. Plain and simple.

That's your logic? Total failure in logic, and show a complete lack of understanding of mental health issues. By that definition no one is ever insane. They are all doing something, so they must not be insane or they wouldn't be able to do it.

I think Japan needs to open its eyes to what's happening... mental health needs to be taken seriously, not shoved under the tatami and not dismissed as something you don't talk about. There needs to also be taken a serious look at the work/life balance of people. Employees should not fear going away for decent holidays in case they lose their jobs (this fear does exist), and should be encouraged to take their holidays. A stressed, fearful workforce is not good for the company and certainly isn't good for the employees.

As for this poor woman.... we don't know what made her want to kill herself and her baby, but it must have been pretty extreme. All we can do is speculate... but I'm not condemning her. She was obviously unstable... and you can't blame people for being unstable. Can you?

From what I've read, this is the third one in the month.

So it is not casual.

This "mother" seems to be mentally ill, but it seems difficult to blame some kind of PPD not when you see more than one case.

But I can't help thinking that Japan has serious problems with mental health. I mean, people are stressed "working" long hours, going to drinking parties (you can't say no to this), they don't take vacations, they don't have the posibility to enjoy life working and being a parent, not only because it is expensive but also because all that stress that people don't manage and transforms in various forms of mental illness.

they invented the term "karoshi", who would have thought that it was necessary to put a name of something just because nowadays is the common occurrence?

Tsk!

Japan need to improve this and take mental health seriously and taking away the shame that usually cames with mental illness

PND doesn't always kick in right after birth. It can take time to show up.

The baby in this case was only two and a half weeks old.

The test that I translated for healthcare workers is administered to mothers on home visits six weeks post-partum.

What ever fools call post natal depression an "excuse" have never experienced it nor understand mental health troubles at all. It is a very destructive force in a woman's mental health.

Agreed. In the UK, a mother cannot be charged with the murder of her baby less than a year old, in recognition of the enormous physical and emotional upheavals that new mothers experience.

sillygirl: "Second or Third one in less than a month, no? WTH?????"

In less than a week, actually (maybe just a week), though in the other cases the women died as well. I hope that these women seek out the help that is available, and that help increases, instead of ending their lives, but if they absolutely must I wish they would stop murdering their infants and young children.

I hope that these women seek out the help that is available

And once again you are presuming that they were in their right enough mind to know that they should have done that.

RIP to the baby! Don't spend too much time in limbo! I'm sorry for the mother didn't make it. Now life must even be much worse for her than it already was.

Another incident of this happening ? Truly miserable news.

If the parents cannot cope with the kids they should think giving them up for adoption before hurting them. I know that many people are looking forward to adopting babies and give them a family and a chance in life. I know it because I'm one of them.

Of course there is lack of support. Women are treated less here than other modern societies. Why else would laws be passed, recently, against corporate japan's maternity harassment? For women here, sadly, its the same as 100 yrs ago-

It's quite depressing to continue to read these headlines. I am lucky I never suffered from PND but I know it's real. I wonder if this mother (or women who suffer from PND) showed signs of extreme anxiety while they were pregnant. OBs should be more involved to include monitoring mental and emotional state.

A lot of people who are depressed don't even know they are depressed. Sure there are hotlines available but it's a easier said than done situation. If it were that easy, the number of suicides wouldn't be so high.

What I condemn is the fact that while YOU may not specifically on this thread, others do and have IMMEDIATELY jumped to a woman's defense DESPITE the exact reasons you say others should not jump to the possibility that she knew what she was doing.

No, I haven't. I never make judgement on any individual case, because the information provided in a JT article is never enough to know whether the woman was in her right mind or not. Contrast this with you, who condemns every one of these women as a murderer, and culpable for her actions, even though there is not enough information to know whether the woman was in her right mind or not. I simply point out the illogicality of your stance, as the fact is PND is a real thing, and if a woman is in the depths of it and unable to differentiate right from wrong, she is not culpable. In your mind this equates to me 'jumping to the woman's defense'. I haven't defended nor condemned any single woman in any of these cases, I simply point out that you are in the wrong for immediately condemning without the information to be able to make an accurate judgement.

it is common sense, plain and simple; the same way a person who is depressed, to sickness levels or not, knows, as EVERYONE knows, there are suicide hotlines and help available.

And once again you show a complete lack of understanding as to how mental illness works. One needs to understand the difference between right and wrong to know that getting help is the right thing to do. If one cannot differentiate between right and wrong, then they cannot know that getting help is the right thing to do.

Tessa also points out women here are given psych tests: "As far as I know, just about every new mother in Japan is given this test." (with her link above to the test).

PND doesn't always kick in right after birth. It can take time to show up.

Would you be on here again saying she is not guilty or culpable for the crime, knowing that if she had continued the treatment and gotten the help, which she ignored, she would not have degraded to that condition?

And what if the world spontaneous blows up before she can kill anyone? Or what if she gets washed away by a tsunami right as she is stabbing someone. Or what if someone stops her, or what if a million other things that are irrelevant to the current discussion?

If/when your 'what if' comes to happen, we can discuss it. Right now it has nothing to do with whether these women who have recently committed (or attempted) suicide with their babies are culpable for their actions or not.

Second or Third one in less than a month, no? WTH?????

what is wrong in Japan.. is like the same news over and over ....just different places...

I am in the US, and though we say that we help people with mental illness, we are not much better. We are especially guilty of not treating our veterans (the VA is a joke and the poorest of excuses for a government agency.) or our homeless very well. We have laws that supposedly protect people with physical and mental illness but all we are really doing is giving them a label which will follow them throughout life and cause further discrimination. Those that want to discriminate will do so, they just will not be so obvious about it and probably even be more cruel.

At work, I see people with mental and emotional challengers being treated badly by their coworkers. Though there are laws, company rules, and reprimands from management, the "bullying" continues. In most cases, it is a done when no one is watching but the victim is afraid to call attention to themselves so they don't say anything and continue to suffer in silence. Probably the same as these women who killed their babies.

At the gym, I also see it. In the streets, most people, even myself, have been known to shun away from the homeless, who in many cases are suffering from mental illness. Yes I am guilty too even though I make an effort to be more enlightened.

So are we, and by "we" I mean just about anyone, to throw stones at Japan? Mental illness is not easy to diagnose. Most people who suffer from it do not know they are suffering from it & if they do - they want to hide it. It is even more difficult to treat because first it has to be diagnosed correctly and then a treatment that will actually work needs to be found. In most cases, it is a very long ordeal with no guarantee of success. So once again, who are "we" to throw stones at Japan for a not having a solution to a very complex problem?

You have to be insane to kill your baby, but I also wonder if a lack of support from their husbands contributes to women doing these things.

No, it is common sense, plain and simple; the same way a person who is depressed, to sickness levels or not, knows, as EVERYONE knows, there are suicide hotlines and help available.

Which just about sums up what you know on the subject. tens of thousands of people a year kill themselves because of depression but they ALL know that there's help out there. You have no idea. Absolutely no idea.

You condemn others for jumping to her defence because they don't know the full story. Yet you immediately condemn her and others previously without knowing any more of the story.

Readers, please stop bickering. Some of you come onto these threads always spoiling for a fight. Just focus your comments on the story and not at each other.

The baby in this case was only two and a half weeks old.

The test that I translated for healthcare workers is administered to mothers on home visits six weeks post-partum.

Thanks for the clarification.

at least won't entertain the possibility that some if not all of these women know exactly what they were doing.

At least won't entertain the possibility that some if not all of these women had no idea what they were doing.

Muder charges pending ?

I doubt it. The stupid justice system in this country has too much compassion for people who commit domestic crimes. At best, she will spend some time in a mental facility, get a suspended sentence, and be free to have more babies to kill in the future. And if anyone thinks this comment is too extreme, I can show you that it has happened before, and very recently too.

I've just finished translating the Edinburgh questionnaire for healthcare workers in a nearby municipality.

https://psychology-tools.com/epds/

As far as I know, just about every new mother in Japan is given this test.

This "mother" seems to be mentally ill, but it seems difficult to blame some kind of PPD not when you see more than one case.

If you are talking about a general trend across all of them, it may be less likely that it's PPD (though without actual numbers I have no clue if this is true or not), but even if it is, you cannot apply that general trend to single instances, as any single instance may or may not be PPD, and without the specifics of the case, there is no way to know.

Muder charges pending ?

Strangerland: "And once again you are presuming that they were in their right enough mind to know that they should have done that."

And once again you assume they were not and jump to defend murderers, or at least won't entertain the possibility that some if not all of these women know exactly what they were doing. She knew she could have gotten help, and knew she was suffering from depression or something else -- or else she would not tried to have jumped. You don't want something to end without knowing you want that. Plain and simple.

I hope she wakes up, her physical wounds improve, and then she's locked up for life with pictures of her child. Defend murderers all you want and blame it on everything else but them -- I for one am getting sick of this now daily occurrence, and the excuses that allow it to keep on happening.

Strangerland: "Where did you ever get that idea? I'm sure some of them, and potentially all of the recent ones, were able to determine right from wrong. But the fact is that a short news story isn't enough to determine whether these women were in their right minds or not, which is why I don't condemn or make excuses for any of them. You however condemn all of them without knowing the details."

No. What I condemn is the fact that while YOU may not specifically on this thread, others do and have IMMEDIATELY jumped to a woman's defense DESPITE the exact reasons you say others should not jump to the possibility that she knew what she was doing. In other words, I have never seen you say to people jump on and suggest that she has PPD and it's not her fault that they should wait until they could be wrong, that it might not be PPD, and if it's discovered she was not mentally ill than she should be branded a murderer and punished as such if still alive. When those people jump on the threads and start throwing out that so often that you have comments above like: "And please dont use Post Natal Depression as an excuse." You ask to this, How do you know it wasn't PND? and so I ask you why we must always be countered with this question to the question as to how do people know it WAS?

"How do you know? Are you privy to some information other than what is in this article? Because you cannot know this with the information we've been given here."

No, it is common sense, plain and simple; the same way a person who is depressed, to sickness levels or not, knows, as EVERYONE knows, there are suicide hotlines and help available. You know it. Tessa also points out women here are given psych tests: "As far as I know, just about every new mother in Japan is given this test." (with her link above to the test).

So, here's a question for you. Let's say that she ends up surviving, isn't just a cold-blooded murderer and actually feels remorse for what she's done and decides to get the help that's been offered her before. So, okay, the fact aside that she could have sought out help before, let's say she then goes into a kind of mental care facility for some period of time and undergoes some kind of treatment(s), is declared fit, and let go, with a prescription for certain meds she needs to take. So now, despite having murdered her child, she is not found guilty due to the illness she has since come to control, right? Well, let's say she then at some point stops taking the required meds (same as ignoring the help available), her mental condition deteriorates, and she goes and kills someone (regardless of whom). Would you be on here again saying she is not guilty or culpable for the crime, knowing that if she had continued the treatment and gotten the help, which she ignored, she would not have degraded to that condition?

Mirai: "At best, she will spend some time in a mental facility, get a suspended sentence, and be free to have more babies to kill in the future. And if anyone thinks this comment is too extreme, I can show you that it has happened before, and very recently too."

I'm with you 100%. Your comment is stated bluntly, but is the truth that I have also been saying. One my questions is when she does it again, will they still say it's not her fault?

No please. Not again. Not another one. I just got back from a wonderful 11km run around the lake and felt so good until I read this. I am sorry but I think the issue is far beyond what even the best mental health services in the world can provide a solution too. These women that commit these acts seem to have the ability to override one of the strongest human instincts. The maternal instinct. Thats 90 years of possible life this women destroyed. Did it ever occur to her that the child may have grown up and had a happy life. And please dont use Post Natal Depression as an excuse. Millions of women suffer it and they dont do things like this. Something else going on psychologically.

Weak minded women to do that instead of seeking the help they need.

”The woman, who is in her 30s, survived the fall but the baby died,”

I say as soon as she's better, lock her up with a few pictures of her little girl and let her spend the next 20 years thinking about it a little.