What is postpartum psychosis, the condition at the center of the Lindsay Clancy trial in the US?

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Rare but particularly severe, this psychiatric disorder can suddenly cause a mother to lose touch with reality after giving birth. It is at the heart of the defense of Lindsay Clancy, an American woman currently on trial for the 2023 murders of her three children.

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Millions of Americans are closely following the decision of the 12-member jury at the Plymouth courthouse in Massachusetts. After five weeks of hearings, jurors ended a second day of deliberations on Friday without a verdict in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, 36. They are now expected to resume deliberations Monday.

On January 24, 2023, this former maternity nurse killed her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months old, before attempting to take her own life. While she has admitted to strangling them, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time. But what exactly is this disorder?

What is this psychiatric disorder?

Postpartum psychosis, also known as puerperal psychosis, is a rare psychiatric disorder that occurs in the period following childbirth. It can develop up to 12 weeks after birth and affects between one and two women out of every 1,000 births, according to a landmark study published in 2025 by around 20 psychiatric experts from around the world. The disorder most often appears "within the first two weeks postpartum," especially "between the eighth and tenth day," they noted. Even though it remains little known to the general public, "it is taught to healthcare professionals just like the baby blues and postpartum depression," explained Laurena Dejardin, a private practice midwife.

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