Jurors deliberate in Lindsay Clancy postpartum psychosis case

In January 2023, Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children (Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months) to death before attempting to take her own life by jumping from a second floor window of her home. This tragedy followed months of mental health struggles for which Clancy, a labor and delivery nurse, repeatedly sought help.

Clancy, whose trial began a month ago, does not dispute the fact of her killing her children. However, her defense maintains that she was not criminally responsible for her actions due to being in a state of postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors argue that Clancy’s killing of her children was a premeditated act. A jury will now decide her fate, either commitment to a psychiatric facility, or potentially life imprisonment.

The case has sparked conversation and debate over issues surrounding motherhood, women’s healthcare, and mental healthcare. While postpartum depression in new mothers is fairly common and increasingly well-recognized, postpartum psychosis is a much rarer condition. Driven by a combination of sleep deprivation, stress and hormonal changes after giving birth, postpartum psychosis can cause new mothers to lose their grip on reality. This can cause mothers to experience hallucinations and sometimes act out dangerously either against their children or themselves.