HOW THE BRITISH MEDIA VIEWS THE MCCANN-HATERS

http://www.urbanmoms.ca/diy/2010/08/wtf-wednesday---ppd-is-real-or-why-aol-news-needs-a-fact-

WTF Wednesday - PPD is Real or Why AOL News needs a fact checker!
By Sara on August 18, 2010 11:31 AM

Well it's Wednesday again and as has been the case over the past few weeks, apparently it's the WTF day as opposed to Friday for me. Today though - WTF seems almost too minimal for how insane and destructive this story is.

This week as I'm sure most of you read in the media, a mother in South Carolina killed her children and then drove them into a river in her car. Incomprehensible. Tragic.

This is NOT the basis of my WTF. Who knows what this woman was going through. No, I'm talking about AOL 'News' who had Pat Brown, a criminal profiler, comment on the story - he had this to say [the story has since been revised to take out the references to postpartum...sorry, too little too late - damage done].

"Most women who suffer depression after their children are born are suffering from post-how-did-I-get-stuck-with-this-kid, this body, this life? They may be depressed, but it is their situation and their psychopathic personality that brings them to kill their children, and not some chemical malfunction."

WTF?!?!?! How dare you. And AOL - how dare you publish this??? What sort of expert is this?? I've written here about my own struggle with PPD. **I need a sidenote here, I keep trying to write and I keep being drawn back to this 'psychopathic personality' line and I'm so, so enraged that I almost can't focus.** I was fortunate, I asked for help in time and I got it. And while I can only speak to my own experience, I found the right drug, caught up on my sleep and surrounded myself with support systems...and I was fine, in time. But how many women aren't as fortunate? What about the mom who today decides, "I need help", then googles post partum and gets that story - is she going to go for help? No! Never! She'll suffer in silence like so many women have over the years.

Postpartum is real. If you want proof, check out the photo gallery at Postpartum Progress. I looked through it last night with tears going down my cheeks. These are the SURVIVORS and I'm going to be honoured to add this picture of Will and I to the gallery.

How dare anyone suggest we are a bunch of women longing for our old lives, wishing we didn't have our kids. And how dare anyone choose to publish such a ridiculous inaccuracy. WTF indeed!

And This Is Why The Stigma Of Depression Persists August 19, 2010

Erin @ 6:52 am
Yesterday, AOLNews posted an article about a women in South Carolina who murdered her two sons which contained a quote from a supposed “expert” about postpartum depression:

“Most women who suffer depression after their children are born are suffering from post-how-did-I-get-stuck-with-this-kid, this body, this life? They may be depressed, but it is their situation and their psychopathic personality that brings them to kill their children, and not some chemical malfunction.” – Pat Brown Investigative Criminal Profiler

After much uproar, AOLNews removed the quote from the story. While I found this quote insensitive, ignorant, and annoying, it didn’t provoke me to post about it.

That is, until now. Multiple women have contacted Pat Brown and shared the reponses they recived with Katherine Stone over at Postpartum Progress. The abosolute worst one, the one that gets my blood boiling, the one that pisses me off to no end and truly offends me is this:

“Generally speaking, I don’t buy the chemical imbalance theory for any depression; I believe people just don’t want to deal with real life issues and the fact that sometimes life is simply depressing and damn difficult. It isn’t about chemical imbalance but tough times and our own issues.
Pat Brown
Investigative Criminal Profiler”

I am too disgusted to say anything more.

Candace April

When I've been quoted as an expert in my field, reporters have checked my credentials and only quoted me in areas where I have the expertise to make statements.

The original quote from Pat Brown should never have been used--it was about the nature of postpartum depression and, yes, it did impugn it as a diagnosis. If someone is a criminologist, quote them only as a criminologist, not in a place where you need a psychologist.

If you read the post at Pretty Babies, you will see that Pat Brown again clarifies that she "doesn't buy" the idea of postpartum depression (or any depression) as a chemical imbalance or even a diagnosis.

http://prettybabies.blogspot.com/2010/08/open-lett...

This is akin to picking a name out of a phone book and asking the person to provide an expert quote for your article.

And from www.postpartum.net:
katstone

Actually Ms. Brown wouldn't be correct. Women with PPD don't commit infanticide. Women with postpartum psychosis (different illness) sometimes do because they are compelled by delusions and hallucinations. There are also people who kill their children for reasons having nothing to do with PPD or PPP.

I realize that the topic is going to come up every time there is a story when a woman kills a baby or young child. Though it hurts me every time it happens, I realize that someone is always going to ask whether PPD or PPP played a part. I'm trying to come to terms with that. I don't think I have to come to terms, though, with a discussion like that being played out in an irresponsible, non-factual way.

katstone

...... the story called it a crock. The story that AOL News was responsible for fact checking and editing. The story that AOL news created where they could have picked any NUMBER of people to comment but they chose to publish the comment of ONE person, the completely uninformed Pat Brown. They are responsible for having spread this ignorance onto the internet where millions of people could read it. If not for AOL, we wouldn't have ever had to see such drivel, nor defend against it. This is AOL's fault.

crazytony wrote:Do read his CV
http://www.corpus-delicti.com/brent/brent_cv.html

Suffering Isn't A Choice
August 19, 2010 By Amy http://www.freakyperfect.com/2010/08
(4th post down)

I typically don’t participate in the “outrage of the day” memes for a couple of reasons. The first is that I’m pretty apathetic, in a live-and-let-live kind of way. I don’t get terribly worked up over homeschooling or boycotts becuase I really just don’t care how other people choose to live their lives. My approval or disapproval or opinion means bupkiss.

I also don’t chime in because I loathe unoriginality. By the time I get off work and get everyone fed and can sit down to write, a couple of dozen other bloggers have tackled the subject, and they’ve probably done so better than I ever could. So I just ignore my inner monologue and go watch So You Think You Can Dance or something.

But today is different. I can’t not say something today. Because what I, and many others, are outraged about today can’t be ignored. I can’t be apathetic, because lives are at stake. And it’s a very personal topic for me.

Earlier today, AOL posted an article about the South Carolina mom who killed her two children. In that article, criminal profiler Pat Brown provided an expert quote. The problem is, Pat Brown decided to give her “expert” opinion on postpartum depression. And she said she thinks it’s a crock. She doesn’t think there’s any kind of hormonal or chemical changes in the body after pregnancy. She thinks that women who are depressed after giving birth are just kind of ticked off because they’re fat or because they can’t go out with their friends as often. I kid you not.

News flash, Pat Brown. You’re a criminologist, not a doctor. Stick to what you know.

Well, it didn’t take long before the blogosphere was up in arms. And rightfully so. The backlash was so sudden and severe that the editor had to amend the article and remove Brown’s quotes. (Shame on writer David Lohr for even including such a specious quote, and shame on the editors for let it slip through in the first place.)

I’m not here to argue the finer medical points of postpartum depression or psychiatry or obstetrics or endocrinology. I, for one, know not to spout off at the mouth about things I’m not well-versed in. And besides, I think there’s only a relatively small amount of people as stupid as Pat Brown or Tom Cruise, who think that there are no hormonal or chemical changes in the body during and after pregnancy.

But I do know that there is still a huge stigma when it comes to any kind of mental health issue. And there’s also a huge stigma about women who are less than picture-perfect new moms. These stigmas need to disappear, NOW. And people like Pat Brown and Tom Cruise don’t help that happen.

I am not afraid to say to all the world that I suffered pretty severe postpartum depression after the birth of my first child. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life. As if coping with a new baby wasn’t hard enough, I was losing my mind. And I didn’t know what to do about it. There I was, well-educated and with a loving family and friends, and I was still hopeless and helpless. I was scared to say anything to anyone. Scared that my child might be taken away from me, but then also scared that he wouldn’t be. Scared that everyone would think less of me if I was less than perfect. Scared that if I saw the wrong doctor, my cries for help would be ignored. I can still remember the horrible workings of my post-pregnancy mind like it was yesterday. I had hallucinations and violent thoughts. And it wasn’t because I thought I was fat, fer chrissakes.

So I’m speaking out today in a feeble attempt to counteract the Pat Browns and Tom Cruises of the world. I’m speaking to let women know that postpartum depression is real. It happens. You don’t have to be poor or dumb or a bad mother for it to happen, either. It’s a result of chemical imbalances and raging hormones and sleep deprivation and it is fixable and it is not your fault.

My advice? If you’re pregnant, and you’re feeling down or nervous, quit reading all those sickeningly sweet pregnancy blogs and listening to the women in your life telling you how special pregnancy is. Sure, for some people it is. But for many, pregnancy sucks. It’s a nightmarish 40 weeks of pain and discomfort and stress. And a bad preganancy can set you up for postpartum depression.

And if you’re a new mom, and you’re feeling the least bit overwhelmed or depressed, talk to someone. Immediately. Not someone judgmental. Talk to someone who will listen. Heck, let me know if you want to talk — I’ll give you my phone number. Better yet, talk to an expert. A real doctor. Do not be ashamed. Do not be afraid. Do not think you can’t go on meds because you need to breastfeed — your mental health is way more important than breast milk, for pete’s sake.

Please, please, please don’t let the naysayers and dummies and people who don’t have a clue scare you from taking care of yourself. And please believe me when I say everything will be OK.

Oh, and one day, if you want to, you can get your body back and go out with your friends again. Yeehaw!

bb1 wrote:http://thehoundingofthemccans.blogspot.com/?zx=bd7d5ff2f7285e1a



BTW, Tony, a 'bint' is a rough sort of woman, you know, the suicide blonde kind, that drinks at breakfast time - we've all seen them, and tried to avoid them; they tend to be noisy and coarse.