Biological Criminal Behavior
CJA/314

Biological Criminal Behavior
Andrea Yates had battled with postpartum depression for years and on June 20, 2001, she drowned all five children in the bathtub of her home. Ultimately the underlining cause of her actions was caused by postpartum psychosis that was triggered by Andrea’s improper use of her medication, failure to adhere to her doctor’s advice after treatment, and her lack of knowledge of coping techniques commonly used by women who suffer from postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can take up to a year after the birth of a child before the mother would even notice the signs of depression and in Yates’s case if left untreated can have a tragic affect on the person and
Andrea Yates has a family history of mental illness that played a part in what ultimately contributed to her postpartum psychosis. “She didn’t realize how much mental illness there was in her own family, from depression to bipolar disorder, which can contribute to postpartum psychosis. In her initial stages, she remained undiagnosed and untreated.” (Ramsland, 2012, para. 4) Yates had a genetic history of mental illnesses that ran in her family, but it did not present itself until after the birth of the couple’s first child. After the birth of her first child, Yates began to have hallucinations about committing violent acts, by the birth of her fourth child Yates mental condition had gotten worse that her doctor was against the idea of Yates conceiving another child with the severity of her mental condition, and that yates was at high risk for developing postpartum psychosis. “After the birth of her fifth child and the death of her father, she went into a severe depression and was forcefully admitted to Devereux-Texas Treatment Network.” (Andrea Yates Biography, 2012, para. 3) Although Yates was seen by a psychiatrist diagnosed and treated for her depression because of the limitations health care places on the amount of days a person could stay in the hospital and remain covered Yates was often released before