"I am a useless person..." Mother who jumped from apartment holding her 13-day-old daughter in her arms

Postpartum Depression Due to Hormonal Changes and Parenting Stress

A mother who jumped to her death holding her baby due to postpartum depression and childcare problems was sentenced to 3 years in prison with a 7-day jail term.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A mother who jumped to her death holding her baby due to postpartum depression and childcare issues was sentenced to three years in prison.

The Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Lee Jeong-hyun) sentenced a 26-year-old Vietnamese woman, Ms. A, who was tried on charges of murder, to three years in prison.

The court stated, "The defendant, who should have protected the victim (the baby), instead caused the grave outcome of taking that precious life, which in itself is a very serious crime," and added, "The defendant will live the rest of her life burdened with guilt and regret for taking her young daughter's life with her own hands."

It continued, "The husband does not want punishment, and the defendant has no prior criminal record. Considering that the defendant admitted her crime and deeply repents her wrongdoing, the sentence is determined accordingly," the court ruled.

On January 2 of last year, at around 6:50 p.m., Ms. A jumped from the eighth-floor balcony of an apartment in Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, holding her 13-day-old daughter in her arms.

The baby fell to the first-floor ground of the apartment, suffered severe head injuries, and died, while the mother survived.

At the time, Ms. A left a note in the master bedroom of the apartment that read, "I am truly a useless person. My husband is a good person, but I am a bad person. If I cannot fulfill the role of a mother, then what is the point of living? I am sorry to everyone. Goodbye."

Ms. A, who gave birth to the baby at the end of December 2019, suffered from anxiety about raising the baby alone and postpartum depression. She felt she could no longer care for the baby and decided to jump with the baby.

On the day of the crime, she even hinted during psychiatric treatment that she would kill the baby and then take her own life.

The hospital diagnosed her as being at risk of extreme actions due to postpartum depression, but since she was a foreigner without an interpreter, the effectiveness of inpatient treatment was low, and due to circumstances such as needing to care for the baby, she was unable to be hospitalized.

The hospital prescribed antidepressant medication and urged the husband, "Do not leave Ms. A alone and watch over her."

Even after the crime, Ms. A suffered from psychiatric symptoms such as depression, delirium, and hypnagogic hallucinations.

The police concluded that Ms. A was exposed to extreme stress due to rapid hormonal changes related to childbirth and the environmental factor of having to care for the baby alone, leading to postpartum depression.

Furthermore, conflicts with Ms. A’s mother and grandmother over childcare issues caused her to perceive her situation excessively negatively, leading to her extreme actions.

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This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.