The despair of a mother and the death of a child

The drama in Nole Canavese. She murdered her ten-month-old daughter by drowning her in the bathtub and then unsuccessfully attempted suicide with a knife. Carola Finatti is now under arrest in hospital. Before taking the child and killing her, she wrote notes trying to explain the meaning of that inhumane act. “I can’t do it anymore,” “I can’t keep the baby,” “I can’t raise her,” it was written, according to what La Stampa reported today. Perla’s father: I had to take Carola to the psychologist. It was the father, Antonio Parrinello, who found the little one in the bathtub. ‘I came home especially because I wanted to accompany Carola to the psychologist. Since she started feeling unwell, we have done everything possible. We immediately sought help. We wanted this child so badly. We have been together for 18 years and we have waited so long for her,” said the 36-year-old, who lost everything within a few hours. He found the house strangely locked, including the key inserted into the front door from the inside. So much so that to get in he had to go through a window. Once inside, he was confronted with the now lifeless child in the bathtub and not far away the mother who had been injured in the chest. He called 911 and tried to resuscitate the child: all in vain. Carola’s depression Little Perla drowned, according to what the Carabinieri reconstructed, in the bathtub of the family home, a detached villa on Via Grazioli, a stone’s throw from the city center. The little one is said to have died at the hands of her mother, Carola, 34, who had been struggling with severe postpartum depression for some time. The woman also attempted suicide: she is now in hospital and under surveillance at the Molinette Hospital in Turin, but is not in a life-threatening condition. She stabbed herself in the chest and neck, but the wounds did not damage any vital organs. She underwent surgery and has a guarded prognosis. The doctor who followed her: Carola did her best ‘I continued to follow her, together with other professionals, from the moment the first symptoms of her postpartum depression appeared. It was certain that it was. We didn’t hesitate. And when we realized it, we activated the entire network of the healthcare system. Me, as a doctor, the psychiatrist, the psychologist. Carola was in therapy. What else could she have done?’ explains Grazia Beva, the psychologist who followed Carola Finatti. Then she concludes: ‘But Carola, and please write this down, it is necessary, was immediately warned for care. She was followed by everyone. And her whole family moved, united with her, to help her. She did her best. Recently, in this very recent period, things seemed to be getting a little better. And yet.’ The checks on the phones A few hours after the body was found, the prosecutor of Ivrea, Elena Parato, conducted a lengthy inspection of the villa. There are still many issues that need to be clarified. For this reason, some technical checks will continue in the coming hours, starting with those on parents’ mobile phones. Psychiatrist Giancarlo Cerveri, member of the Italian Psychiatry Association, recalls how the postpartum period is “a phase of great vulnerability.” One must pay attention to warning signs. Many studies have shown how physiologically there is a transient change in mood that in many cases disappears spontaneously, but some women are unfortunately faced with a very severe, persistent depressive state, which in some cases can culminate in a so-called postpartum psychosis, in which the mother suffers has a depressive state. the mental condition becomes even more serious.”