A heartbroken father of three has revealed that his wife died by suicide just nine days after giving birth to twins.
Ariana Sutton, 36, was 'a loving mother who tragically took her own life only days after delivering newborn twins'.
The mum died in May and a GoFundMe has since been set up to support the family.
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Husband Tyler Sutton, a police officer in Massachusetts, said he was very 'nervous' about Ariana becoming a mother again.
Ariana experienced postpartum depression (PPD) after welcoming daughter Melody in 2018.
“I was very nervous,” Tyler told TODAY.com.
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“But being a mother was Ariana’s favorite thing in the world.
“And I thought if I stayed vigilant, everything would be OK the second time around.”
Tyler says that Ariana was seeing a psychologist weekly in the lead-up to her recent birth on May 22, where Everly and Rowan were born several weeks premature.
Nine days later, the mom took her own life.
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“We were both so excited to be having twins. I can’t even begin to describe how happy she was,” Tyler said.
“There were no signs that anything was wrong. You’d never have a clue. She was always joking about her swollen ankles and how she couldn’t wait to drink a big cup of coffee.
“I never dreamed this could happen. It came on so rapidly, and so suddenly."
The husband says 'he couldn't get through to her' when the two newborns were taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“She started talking about how she wanted them back in her belly. I was like, ‘Honey, they’re going to be fine. They came early, but they’re healthy and they’ve got a great team of people watching them around the clock,’" Tyler said.
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“But I couldn’t get through to her. No one could get through to her.”
Tyler has since urged people to look out for the signs of PPD early, as Ariana first experienced it after her first daughter's birth.
He remembers Ariana developing a 'borderline obsessive' nature, in her case, about cleanliness and the family’s water supply.
“She was concerned there were bad things in our tap water, and would call the water department in town to discuss it with them — and even after she was assured that everything was fine, she couldn’t drop it,” Tyler - who decided to take time off work to look after his wife - said.
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“I was thinking, ‘This will give her the opportunity to relax and take care of herself, but it ended up having the opposite effect and made things worse. She was like, ‘My husband is doing my job, and I’m a bad mother.’
“She would lay in bed crying."
For US readers, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org
For UK readers Samaritans are there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and will talk to you about anything that's bothering you. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email [email protected] or visit some branches in person. You can also call the Welsh Language Line on 0300 164 0123 from 7pm to 11pm every day.
Topics: Mental Health