Haley Ashcom Shares 1-in-1,000 Postpartum Psychosis Ordeal as Clancy Trial Renews Focus

Q: What hidden warning sign of postpartum psychosis is often mistaken for normal new-mom exhaustion before becoming a deadly emergency?

The hidden warning sign is severe insomnia that becomes a **decreased need for sleep** — not just ordinary new-parent exhaustion. Experts say one of the earliest and most easily missed signs of postpartum psychosis is when a mother stays awake for 24 to 48 hours or longer and does not seem tired, or feels unusually wired, energized, or unable to sleep even when given the chance. That can look deceptively normal in the postpartum period because sleep deprivation is so common after childbirth. But doctors stress there is an important difference between being tired because of a newborn and being unable to sleep despite exhaustion, especially when it is paired with anxiety, confusion, rapid mood swings, paranoia, or unusual thoughts. In Haley Ashcom’s case, her illness began with insomnia and anxiety before escalating into intrusive thoughts, hearing voices, and suicidal thinking. Specialists say that progression is why postpartum psychosis is treated as a psychiatric emergency: it can worsen quickly into delusions, hallucinations, and a break from reality, with risk of suicide or harm to the baby if untreated. The practical takeaway from experts is clear: if a postpartum parent cannot sleep, seems confused or unusually energized, or begins expressing bizarre beliefs, paranoia, or voices, that is not something to wait out as “normal exhaustion.” It requires urgent medical evaluation.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 21

Haley Ashcom told CBS Mornings she developed insomnia, anxiety, intrusive thoughts and then violent voices after her son Kane was born in 2020, before checking herself into a psychiatric hospital.
Doctors there diagnosed postpartum psychosis, a rare condition affecting about one to two in 1,000 women after delivery; Ashcom said the diagnosis finally led to the right treatment and her recovery.
Dr. Catherine Birndorf said the illness is dangerous and may be underdiagnosed, while perinatal psychiatrist Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider described it as a break from reality that can involve delusions centered on the baby.
The interview comes as the 2023 Lindsay Clancy case has become a watershed moment for awareness, with Clancy's defense arguing she had postpartum psychosis when her three children were killed.