( CNN ) -- In 2001 , the nation watched as Andrea Yates , by all accounts a loving mother , was arrested in the killings of her five children after drowning them in a bathtub . In the trial that followed , we learned she had a history of mental illness , which intensified in her postpartum periods and required four psychiatric hospitalizations . She would ultimately be found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a Texas psychiatric hospital . Her case riveted a bewildered nation for much the same reasons as the story this past weekend of Megan Huntsman , a woman in Utah who authorities say admitted to strangling or suffocating at least six of her babies , likely over a 10-year period beginning in 1996 , and putting their bodies in boxes in her garage . As with Yates , intense national publicity has focused on the shock or horror of filicide -- the act of a parent killing a child . We wonder : What would cause a mother or father to do such a seemingly unnatural thing ? Indeed , it 's rare enough to stop us in our tracks . But the practice has existed since ancient times , and the reasons may include displeasure over the child 's gender , or a disability or questionable paternity as a lack of parental resources to care for the child . Filicide has been documented in literature from all eras . Perhaps the most famous tale comes from Greek mythology -- - the story of Medea , a woman who kills her sons to punish her husband for his affair . Today , roughly two-thirds of all children murdered in the United States under the age of 5 between 1980 and 2008 were killed by a parent , more specifically 33 % were killed by their fathers and 30 % by their mothers . We can not know what was behind the deaths of Huntsman 's infants , but research may offer at least broad motivations . Forensic psychiatrist Phillip J. Resnick , a pioneer in the field of filicide research , published a seminal article in 1969 identifying five major reasons for filicide based on the motive of the perpetrator : . 1 . Altruism : The parent kills the child because he or she may perceive it to be in the child 's best interest . It may be reality-based ( e.g. , the child suffers from a terminal illness ) or precede the suicide of the parent , as the parent feels it would be unfair to leave the child behind to face the cruel world . 2 . Acute psychosis : The parent kills the child based on ideas that are inconsistent with reality ; for example , the parent believes the child has been possessed by the devil . 3 . Unwanted child : The parent kills the child that he or she regards as a hindrance . 4 . Accidental : The child 's death is an unintentional outcome of parental physical abuse . 5 . Spousal revenge : The parent kills the child in an effort to exact revenge on the other parent . Filicide is the broad term used to refer to a parent ( or a person acting in a parental role , such as a stepparent or guardian ) who kills his or her child under the age of 18 ; infanticide is the term used to define the murder of a child in the first year of life , and -- more specifically -- neonaticide refers to a parent who kills a child within the first 24 hours of life . Neonaticides , as described by Resnick , are most often perpetrated by young , unmarried women who do not suffer from a major mental illness and do not want their children . In 1997 , for example , New Jersey teen Melissa Drexler made national news when it was discovered she gave birth in a bathroom stall at her prom and disposed of the newborn in a trash can . It is also worth noting there are differences between fathers and mothers who commit filicide . Fathers are more likely to kill more than one victim , including other children and spouses . They are also more likely to kill themselves following the filicide . And fathers are often more harshly punished than women who commit similar crimes . England , for example , passed the Infanticide Acts of 1922 and 1938 , which banned the use of the death penalty for mothers who killed their children in the first 12 months of life . These were efforts to recognize the effect that the birth and care of an infant may have on the mother . Several other Western countries have followed suit ( with the exception of the United States ) . No such laws exist to protect men charged with infanticide . Is it possible to prevent the killing of children by their parents ? This is trickier . Efforts to head off deaths have included the passage of safe haven laws , which allow parents to surrender infants anonymously to state custody without fear of legal repercussions . But parents who kill their children are a varied population , and this , unfortunately , leaves few means to identify those at risk in the first place . The friends and family of parents or parents-to-be suffering from stress or mental illness would best serve their loved ones by helping them get the attention of mental health providers . These treatment providers should in turn make every extra effort to learn specifically about the parents ' feelings toward -- or plans for -- their children . Then , perhaps , we can have some hope of preventing these senseless tragedies .
Sara West : Case of Utah mom accused of killing her babies recalls 2001 Rebecca Yates case . She made public shocked by such accusations , always asking how mothers could kill their children . West : Expert identified five reasons , including spousal abuse , acute psychosis . Prevention is hard , but mental heath treatment can help , she says .