#postpartum-psychosis

#postpartum-psychosis

Dressed in black and using a wheelchair, Clancy addressed the court only once during the brief hearing, exchanging a murmured "good afternoon" with Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan. Lawyers on both sides hashed out some logistics in anticipation of Clancy's July 20 murder trial, discussing pending motions, the status of discovery, and prosecution experts' upcoming evaluation of Clancy. The defendant herself was unexpressive throughout the hearing and mostly stared straight ahead.

the lawsuit accuses several medical providers of a "catastrophic failure" to properly diagnose, treat, and monitor Clancy as her postpartum mental health rapidly declined. Instead, the suit alleges, they subjected Clancy to a "disorganized, uncoordinated course of polypharmacy" that only made her worse. Clancy had been experiencing auditory hallucinations for weeks leading up to the killings, according to the complaint, but the commanding voice took on a new urgency after her husband left to pick up dinner on Jan. 24, 2023.

Postpartum psychosis often strikes women with no history of mental illness, who in the weeks after giving birth are seized by paranoia or delusions. Emily Sliwinski got home from the hospital after giving birth to her first child three years ago, and almost immediately began spiraling. Her thoughts raced; she was unable to sleep; she began hallucinating that her dog was speaking to her. She became obsessed with solving the national shortage of infant formula, covering a corkboard with notes and ideas.