Suicidal Woman Jumps Into Atlantic City Bay, But That’s Not The Worst Part

by Robert Rich

An Atlanta City woman has many people shaking their heads after attempting suicide by jumping into the Atlantic City Bay. The worst part in all of this is who the woman decided to take with her in her drastic act — her newborn baby daughter.
Police received a call at about 5 p.m. Sunday, stating a woman had jumped into the bay with her newborn child. Luckily, several people were nearby and were able to save both the mother and child on account of their quick thinking.
The woman was spotted by a group of fisherman who saw the woman walking on the rocks edging the bay with her child in hand. At that point, Jose Matos explains, “We saw the lady walking to the rocks with the baby. So my nephew asked her where she was going with the baby. She didn’t say anything and just kept walking.”
Two of the fishermen, Luis Ortiz and Seth Perkins, sprung into action, jumping into the water and saving them both. Ortiz describes what happened before doing so, saying, “I said, ‘I’m gonna go in for you but you can’t panic and don’t try to grab me.’ That’s it. And I went in after her.”
He then broke down in tears, questioning the motives of the woman he’d just saved, asking, “”Why? What was going through that lady’s mind to put herself and her child in danger like that?”
Also on the jetty at the time was retired Atlantic City firefighter Thomas Bell, who gave emergency CPR to the baby after having been handed the unconscious infant. Luckily, he was successful in resuscitation. “The lady handed me the baby,” Bell recalled. “I did two mouth breathes and turned her over and patted her on the back. She spit up a lot of water. Then I just ran down the jetty and gave her to the EMS people.”

The mother has since been identified as 24-year-old Patricia Shurig, and both mother and infant were taken to AtlantiCare for evaluation. According to NBC 10:

Shurig will be charged with aggravated assault with additional charges pending. She will be held on $100,000 bail.

Although this is in no way definitive or verified by any means, it’s being speculated that Shurig might have suffered a severe bout of postpartum depression and maybe even postpartum psychosis. According to the National Library of Medicine, postpartum depression usually consists of “feelings of anxiety, irritation, tearfulness, and restlessness are common in the week or two after pregnancy. These feelings are often called the postpartum or ‘baby blues.’ These symptoms almost always go away soon, without the need for treatment.”
Unfortunately, however, more severe cases can prompt “thoughts of death or suicide.”

It’s hard to understand how a mother could do this to a child she just carried for the past 9 months. What do you have to think about this story?