Abstract: Competing Interests: Declarations. Affiliation: Not applicable. All work was done outside of any professional institution. Financial and other competing interests, including employment: Neither author has any financial or other competing interests in this matter. Each author is self-employed. Authorship clarified: All authors whose names appear on the submission: 1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work; 2) drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content; 3) approved the version to be published; and. 4) agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Competing interests: None. No funds, grants or other support was received. Both authors self-funded the entire manuscript, and all matters contained therein, except that articles, etc. cited are the works of those authors. There are no conflicting or competing interests, financial or otherwise. There were no human subjects. No disclosures or authorizations were necessary. All data on individuals referenced are from public records. No animal subjects were involved in any way.
Purpose: To prevent the incarceration and influence outcomes when criminal culpability is linked to postpartum psychosis.
Methods: Infanticide, neonaticide and filicide are most often linked with postpartum psychosis, which affects 1-2 women per 1,000 births or 4,000 women each year in the United States. Multiple genetic, hormonal and psychosocial factors surrounding childbirth result in a 1 to 4% risk of infanticide in women with postpartum psychosis. The authors seek to increase awareness of postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression in state legislatures. Others are working to have it recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a specific illness. Specific postpartum legislation for those charged with crimes related to maternal mental illness is necessary.
Results: In Illinois, the very first criminal law in the nation recognizing the pernicious effects of this illness went into effect in 2018. The authors and others are attempting to cause similar or broader legislation to be brought in other states. Several women have been released from extended incarceration utilizing this law.
Conclusions: This temporary mental illness can lead to tragic outcomes when hospitalization and crisis intervention is delayed or the illness is misdiagnosed. The legal/judicial system has not utilized the growing body of scientific developments that medical researchers have discovered in recent decades. The lack of a unique diagnostic classification in the DSM and the lack of postpartum criminal laws, lead to mentally ill mothers in the U.S. receiving excessively harsh sentences when prosecuted, evidenced both in trial and sentencing.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)
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