There is a complete lack of specialist psychiatric services for pregnant women and for those who may suffer from postnatal depression, the Irish Association of Suicidology said yesterday.
It also said there was a lack of proper risk assessment of children whose mothers may suffer from postnatal depression.
It also complained that psychiatric services are, for many people, neither user-friendly or readily accessible.
The association issued its statement in the aftermath of an incident in north Cork at the weekend in which a 33-year-old mother and her nine-month-old son were found drowned in the Araglin river on Saturday.
It said: "Murder suicide, including murder filicide (that is the murder of a child by one or other parent who subsequently ends their own life by suicide), though a rare event is more common than one might think and always a matter of great concern. The incidence of murder suicide, when statistics are examined over a number of years, is in the region of one per 500,000 - 750,000 of the population per annum. These events are thought to be under-reported."
The statement added: "Factors involved in leading to these deaths are numerous and include postpartum depression, perinatal psychoses, major depressive illness, other major psychiatric illness, relationship problems, isolation, loneliness, hopelessness and helplessness. In Ireland there have been six such tragic events in the past 18 months. Some of these tragic events are probably not preventable. They do, however, raise many questions about issues related to suicide and suicide prevention and the promotion of positive mental health".
The Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day on 1850-609090.
