Lindsay Clancy is on trial for killing her three kids. That could have been me.
A personal essay explores the harrowing reality of postpartum psychosis through the lens of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. The author reflects on her own struggle with maternal mental health to humanize the complexities of postpartum illness.
Why it matters
It provides a critical perspective on the intersection of mental health, the justice system, and the societal pressures placed on new mothers.
This week begins the triple-murder trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy. A labor and delivery nurse, Clancy sought psychiatric treatment after struggling with maternal mental health issues following the birth of her third child. After being prescribed a growing list of medications, and with symptoms worsening, she admitted herself into an outpatient program for postpartum depression and, later, a residential program at McLean Hospital, outside Boston. Then, in January 2023, just weeks after her release from McLean, she strangled her three children—5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan—and attempted to kill herself.
It’s the worst crime we can imagine. But as a survivor of postpartum psychosis, it’s easy for me to envision my own break with reality ending in tragedy instead of in a psych ward.
My 2-year-old daughter saw my symptoms more clearly than I did.
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