Medical experts are taking the stand for Lindsay Clancy’s defense as her lawyers argue she had severe postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible for the January 2023 deaths of her three children.
Dr. Philip Izzo described postpartum psychosis as a fast-onset psychiatric emergency marked by non-reality-based symptoms such as auditory or visual hallucinations, distinguishing it from postpartum depression.
Izzo said postpartum depression affects about 10% of new mothers, while postpartum psychosis affects roughly 1 to 2 mothers per 1,000 births.
He testified that 1% to 2% of postpartum psychosis patients make a fatal suicide attempt and 10% to 12% may harm an infant, underscoring why the condition has become central to the nationally watched trial.