Police in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, said Friday they have arrested a 36-year-old woman on suspicion of attempting to kill her 2-month-old daughter.
According to police, Atsue Hanatsuka strangled her daughter at their apartment at around 11 a.m. on Thursday and then contacted police, Fuji TV reported.
Police rushed to the apartment and found the baby unconscious but still alive. She was taken to hospital where she remained in a serious condition on Friday.
Hanatsuka was quoted by police as saying she choked her child because she wouldn't stop crying and she just wanted some peace and quiet.
Hanatsuka's husband was at work at the time of the incident.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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David Blue
My parents were horrible self centered soles. But not as dangerous as this!
sensei258
Sounds like stress to me, but maybe you noticed my pedestrian quotation marks
Way to put words in my mouth so you can get on your soap box to attack them, that's so pedestrian of you
LFRAgain
That you would minimize the emotions it would take to strangle your own child to something so simple and pedestrian as "stress" suggests you've no interest in understanding this woman's motivations, much less the devastating effects of postpartum depression, but rather are more interested in insisting only your life experiences have validity and everyone else's are meaningless.
sensei258
So then it's okay, or at least understandable, for somebody who is "stressed" to choke a baby?
LFRAgain
Umm... not exactly. As a father, I can personally attest that babies sometime will still cry despite receiving these three things. And it's those times when a child cries for seemingly no explicable reason that can be particularly trying for any parent.
My anger is tempered by an understanding that childbearing in the modern age can be incredibly stressful for anyone, and also that one person's experiences at raising an infant may not necessarily mirror those of another.
It's called empathy.
DarkKnghtZ
Post partum generally lasts about up to 2 weeks after birth, according to the Mayo Clinic. If she experienced the RARE case where it lasted past that, then heres an Idea: Tell your husband, and your parents, and your siblings if you have any. Those people will surely help you through it, and maybe even watch baby for a few hours so you can have your peace and quiet. Even better idea: Suck it up. Everyone goes through some sort of depression in their life. Depression isn't a justification for murder. By siting that in a murder case, you are simply giving out another variation of the old "P**** pass"
sensei258
Why all the venom for a simple suggestion? Where's your anger at a woman who choked an innocent baby? What ideas am I trying to "push" onto others, how to care for a baby without deciding that choking her was a good alternative?
Yubaru
You know if everyone was like you then we'd never hear stories like this, EVER. I do not understand the logic that some people have thinking that what worked for them will work for others.
You are you, and this mother is not you. Why assume she could do the same?
Between my wife and I we raised 3 kids, but would I assume to push those ideas or tell someone else they should copy what we did? Hell no, I might give ideas, but each person is different and it's pure arrogance to assume otherwise.
So glad little baby's okay.
triumph
Yes Clare Yoshida. The poor, unlucky, deprived Mother. I do hope you ask your "in-laws" for help if your baby suffers from colic!
DaDude
You would think 36 years old would be mature enough to handle a baby. I hope the baby recovers and allowed to be adopted by someone who really wants kids.
lnara
Wonder why do mother bear babies if they can't handle them. I am mother too and have sacrificed a lot for my child. How could a mother harm a baby in this way!! Disgusting!!
sensei258
Granted, but in that case you could check often to make sure she's okay (diaper, food, etc) then leave the room to decompress. It worked for me. I never felt the need to choke my son, or my grand kids when I was their caregiver.
Peter Qinghai
Alive, but what about brain damage? The mother quite possibly truely messed up her child's future.
I've said it before, the veil of stigmatism surrounding mental illness needs to be lifted. Health professionals need to encourage people to seek help.
Clare Yoshida
@sensei258 If the baby had colic nothing stops them crying when they get going. Babies with colic can cry for hours every day with no known medical reason. Also the mother may have been suffering from post partum depression which can make you do crazy things. I have in-Laws living down the road and still feel it's difficult to ask for help. The mother needs help. So glad little baby's okay.
sensei258
Try feeding her, or changing her diaper, or even holding her. That's all a two-month-old baby needs. I hope the baby recovers and never learns what happened. Even though she tried to murder an innocent child, people will have sympathy for her