The trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of murdering her three young children, is continuing in the United States. 

Prosecutors have argued that the 36-year-old acted “intentionally, rationally, and swiftly” when she killed her children. 

Lawyers for the Massachusetts mother admit that she killed her three children; however, they argue she should not be held criminally responsible as she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, psychotherapist and An Croí Beag founder Michelle Flynn described it as an “extremely rare condition” that happens shortly after the birth of a baby. 

“It's an acute condition where the mother will experience sort of confusion, paranoia and hallucinations, perhaps,” she explained. 

“They might start to lose a lot of sleep - so sleep disruption is a big part of it - and it's not the normal sort of no sleep that we see with new mams.

“This is where a mam might not sleep for days on end, but won't feel tired. 

“It can often feel associated with mania or that real kind of heightened sense of activation or needing to do something, a lot of energy followed by a crash.”

Ms Flynn said despite the severity of the condition, many families and even some medical professionals lack awareness of it. 

“I think this is where some of the issue is coming up with the Lindsay Clancy case is maybe that professionals involved in her case didn't spot the signs and symptoms quick enough - there wasn't that holistic care around her,” she said. 

“So, professionals weren't talking to each other. 

“Even in Ireland, the new HSE antenatal education resource guide, which was just published in May, does include postpartum psychosis as a diagnosis for parents to be aware of. 

“But other than that, it's not really included as part of the antenatal education.”

Ms Flynn continued that this lack of awareness “really needs to be addressed” and women who suffer from postpartum psychosis need to be reassured that it is not their fault. 

“There's no blame involved,” she said. 

“It's not because they're a psychopath or they're a bad Mam or anything like that.

“Like I said, it's a very acute and psychiatric condition that can happen to, the HSE estimates, one in every 500 births.

“That number is really high, so we do need to have awareness around it.”

The HSE treats postpartum psychosis as an emergency condition and urges anyone who thinks they or their partner is suffering from it to arrange a rapid assessment by the HSE Mental Health Services.

If you cannot contact your GP, you can ask your local emergency department for help. 

Anyone who needs emotional support can also contact Samaritans on 116 123 or can email jo@samaritans.ie

Main image: Lindsay Clancy. Picture by: AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool.