From grief to advocacy, one family’s fight for awareness of postpartum disorders
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Polly and Frank Fick recall the joy of finding out they were going to be grandparents, and then just three months after their granddaughter was born they lived through the tragedy of losing their daughter, her husband and 3-month-old Taylor Rose.
“I just didn’t want anyone else to go through the pain we went through,” said Polly Fick.
On February 2, 2018, police said Mary Jo Trokey shot and killed her husband and her new baby and then took her own life inside their South St. Louis home.
“I don’t know if she was aware of how sick she was,” said Fick, Mary Jo’s mother.
The Ficks told News 4 their daughter suffered from postpartum psychosis. It’s a disorder garnering more attention due to a tragic case in Massachusetts where police said Lindsay Clancy killed her three children last month.
The Ficks said looking back there were signs, but they didn’t know how seriously their daughter was suffering.
“She was struggling those last couple of days. She didn’t reach out, by that time the psychosis had kicked in. She wasn’t sleeping, she wasn’t eating, she was breastfeeding and she had just gone back to work,” her mother recalled.
Dr. Shannon Lenze is a clinical psychologist at Washington University who specializes in the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women.
“Everyone has this idea of pregnancy and postpartum is this time of joy and love and everything’s great and that’s really not the case for everyone, it can be a really challenging time,” she explained.
Postpartum psychosis is a much rarer disorder impacting one-to-two of every 1,000 births. But much more common are postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression.
“Probably 10-15 percent of pregnancies, even more with persons of low income and persons of color, so even as high as 20-30 percent in cases,” said Dr. Lenze.
The Ficks have turned their grief into advocacy, helping bring a Postpartum Support International chapter to Missouri and helping raise awareness of postpartum disorders and the help available.
Dr. Lenze told News 4 that improvements have been made. Many women undergo a checklist at their six-week postpartum checklist. The most common is a one-page checklist. But not every doctor uses a checklist.
“Many offices will not do the screening because they just do not have a next step,” said Dr. Lenze. It’s why they are working to educate doctors but also nurses and families as they leave labor and delivery.
Both Dr. Lenze and the Fick family are hopeful that the more attention shone on the topic, the more families can be helped.
“What happened to us doesn’t have to happen to others,” said Frank Fick.
There are resources available in the St. Louis region and beyond.
Signs and symptoms to watch out for: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postpartum-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20376617
Postpartum International Support - Missouri Chapter: https://psichapters.com/mo/#get-help
MOMS Line, a peer-supported helpline: http://livewellstl.org/listing/12646/feel_well
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