The children were only eight months, two years and five years old, respectively. Their lives came to a brutal end one day in January 2023 after their mother, Lindsay Clancy, asked her husband to leave to run some errands.
When he returned home, he found her on the ground, injured and unconscious after jumping from a second-storey window. He found the children in the basement. The two older ones were dead. The baby died a few days later.
The case has attracted widespread attention far beyond the borders of Massachusetts and has put women's mental health in the spotlight in connection with childbirth.
“Very sad”
At a demonstration outside the courthouse, the participants are, with few exceptions, women. They want to raise awareness about how women are treated in psychiatric care in the United States.
"Women are dismissed, neglected and ignored when we speak out," one of the participants told AP.
We are afraid because no one takes us seriously.
Another participant says she hopes the case raises awareness about women's health after childbirth.
I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother. I have a sister who had problems after giving birth and it's just so sad. I hope Lindsay gets the care she needs and deserves, and that other women will stand up like we did today.
Have sued the caregivers
Lindsay Clancy, a former maternity nurse, is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Her third child was born in May 2022. From September that year, she began seeking help for anxiety and depression, but according to defense attorney Kevin Reddington, healthcare providers failed to diagnose and treat her until the children were killed a few months later.
According to him, psychiatric medications were prescribed that in some cases worsened the symptoms, writes The Boston Globe. Clancy and her now ex-husband have sued the caregivers.
Prosecutors say Lindsay Clancy planned to kill her children. If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison. If acquitted, she will be committed to a psychiatric hospital, from which she may eventually be released if she is deemed not to pose a threat to society.
A few people who feel unwell after childbirth may suffer from psychosis.
Postpartum psychosis is an uncommon but serious form of psychosis, which can lead to the sufferer harming themselves or their child.
Symptoms may include delusions, hearing voices or sounds that no one else hears, and thought disorders.
Before such a psychosis, it is common to have difficulty sleeping, feel depressed, or be very agitated.
The risk of developing psychosis is greater for a person who has previously had postpartum psychosis or has bipolar disorder.
Anyone who has symptoms of postpartum psychosis – or if someone close to them has it – should immediately seek care at a psychiatric emergency department, a regular emergency department or call 112.
Source: 1177
