15/09/2026
A case that is rocking the world. How could a mother want to kill her own children?
The question for me is now: Is it behavior or is it biology?
Well, it's actually biology first and then behavior next, the two can never be separated.
I'll explain. Our brains evolved over billions of years for one thing only: survival of the species. You might say that as ancient organisms running archaic survival codes, we were engaging in self-experimentation to make ourselves better adapt to an ever-changing environment.
Something happened about 256 million years ago when mammals started developing a highly intelligent nervous system that relied on social connection to enhance survival. Our reptilian fight or flight and egg-laying ways was just too fragile especially during extinction events that didn't allow us to carry our offspring with us.
Nature developed the bio-social nervous system that would ensure the survival of the most powerful animal kingdom on planet: mammals, including human animals.
This advanced nervous system, that relied on connection, territoriality and belonging, needed a brain that was coded for extreme danger alarms during disconnection. When an individual perceives themselves to be isolated, rejected, harmed or abandoned, the body launches survival adaptation programs designed to prolong its life. The medical paradigm calls them "dis-ease" or illness. We call them Senseful Biological Special Programs.
Our very advanced human brain developed the newest part, the cerebral cortex, to deal with relationships, belonging, territory, identity, marking, dealing with enemies, loss of loved ones, loss of valuables, loss of what gives one value of survival like jobs, money, a provider, a home. The deepest conflict as you can imagine, is connected to the heart. Contrary to what people believe, heart attacks start in the brain. A loss of precious territory that defines one's existence has been endured. For a man, it his wife and children, his job, stature, his usefulness. For a woman, it is belonging to a man, being chosen by a man to have her babies.
In the science of Germanische Heilkunde, we know depression, manic-depression or bi-polar programs has to do with the territorial heart relays, in which a hormonal change is very apparent. When we look at programs of the heart, we know it is a highly relational issue as belonging and territoriality has been coded in mammalian brains for millions of years. When a man or woman becomes depressed, depending on their handedness, the testosterone lowers and estrogen increases. This is nature's way of shifting this person's energy to more magnetic to attract more help from others. They need to be cared for, fed, bathed, accompanied and lifted up. Nature's programs make sense when we don't look at them as an illness, but rather, a survival program for bio-social creatures.
The question I wanted to raise for mothers who experience post partum is the idea of suffering a depression due to a relationship issue with their spouse - the feeling of rejection, abandonment, not being chosen. This conflict likely started in childhood, when a girl is rejected, abandoned or harmed by the first man who is her protector and provider - her father.
In pregnancy, we know that active conflicts have a carcinostatic effect, they go on pause while the body is prioritizing the birth of new life, however, when the birth happens, the active conflicts unpause and resume the program, which could be later termed as post-partum depression. For me it's likely a misnomer - depression doesn't have to be a clinical diagnosis, it is a state of mind, a survival adaptation. This state could likely have already been triggered before the pregnancy and had gotten deeper due to the massive hormonal shifts that occur during pregnancy and birthing.
Not to mention the severe pressure that daily childcare brings, especially with more than one child.
These heart relays are known as post mortal constellation, which with multiple triggers, cause them to swing left to right, which cause hormonal shifts that in turn, cause a change in behavior. The postmortal constellation is where su***de happens because one desires the peace of the plane of death.
Conflicts or constellations in GH terms, are not always existing alone. There are often accompanying constellations involving different organs that also trigger survival adaptations for the same relationship problem. The same relationship event can trigger a cortical manic-depressive schizophrenic hearing constellation, they can hear voices of God or the devil pushing them to do things they don't want to do. What one might call "instrusive thoughts"
One of the common constellations is the bio depressive or bio aggression constellation - the territorial anger/identity conflict relay that enlists the emotion of anger to defend oneself. Territorial anger is an enemy is in front of me and I need anger to defend myself and kill it and identity conflict is not being seen the way I want to be seen by this man, not being chosen by a man, choosing another woman instead of me, do I belong to this man? This is the same relay behind school shooting (bio aggressive - anger at others) and self harming (bio depressive - anger towards myself)
All the while this Lindsay Clancy case was going on, those of us in Germanische Heilkunde, have our brain gears turning because we understand nature never makes mistakes. What would drive a mother to kill her children out of survival? What was she trying to survive in the first place? Can we understand the state of her psyche based on the health of her relationship to her spouse? I am not pointing a finger at her husband, I am merely looking at the environment in which her psyche was responding to that can cause depression, suicidal ideations, infanticide and the like.
Understanding human nature, including these gruesome parts, can help us look objectively at the how the archaic highly advanced human brain is programmed to respond and then formulate solutions by tackling the social/relational aspect.
This is why I love the science of the Evolved Nest - because it is truly the response - the Laws of Nurture that direcly address the Biological Laws of Nature (Survival Adaptations).
In this wonderful podcast by Oprah, amidst all the psychobabble and analyses presented by mothers and doctors alike, there is one glimmer of hope presented in the 1:08 min mark that emphasizes the science of the Evolved Nest component of breastfeeding and alloparenting - the idea of shared care, the way small band hunter gatherer groups ensured the survival of our species. The mother from Senegal proudly acclaimed she came from a family of 12. When the mother gives birth, the baby is given to her for breastfeeding, then the baby is cared for by grandmothers, sisters, aunts and cousins so the mother can SLEEP. This is alloparenting or other parenting. Truly the way mammals were designed to thrive - you see this in wolf packs, elephant and horse herds and orca pods. Where did we go wrong? the Nuclear Family - isolation of households. Neighbors who don't really exist. The anti-village.
I hope these conversations continue but more than that, I hope they include the psychobiological root causes of these schizophrenic constellations that are largely dependent on the quality of nestedness and nest relationships - and there is no one who needs to be nested more than mothers.
Let's open our minds and hearts to difficult but important narratives that might make the world a better place for many humans, especially mothers.
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