What is postpartum psychosis?
Postpartum psychosis affects one to two of every 1,000 births in the US, or 0.1 to 0.2 percent. Unlike postpartum depression, which comes on gradually and can last for years, postpartum psychosis is a sudden psychiatric emergency.
In postpartum psychosis, mothers lose touch with reality, suffering hallucinations, mania, paranoia and rapid mood swings. In many cases, like Clancy’s, hallucinations and delusions can tell mothers to hurt themselves or their babies.
‘It carries the most risk of the mother harming the baby due to having psychotic experiences,’ says Dr Rod Hoevert, clinical and forensic psychologist and assistant professor at Maryville University in St Louis.
There isn’t one single trigger of postpartum psychosis. It can be brought on by a combination of severe sleep deprivation, drastic hormone fluctuations and a history of mental health conditions, especially bipolar disorder.
Rachel H Tribble, a licensed clinical social worker in Florida who works with postpartum parents, told the Daily Mail: ‘Any woman with a history of depression, anxiety or other mental health condition could be at higher risk.’
