India, Aug. 14 -- Social media is filled with Reels and posts about the ongoing murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a US-based nurse accused of killing her three children in January 2023. It has drawn global attention to a rare but severe maternal mental health condition: postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors argue that Clancy intentionally killed her children, while her defence maintains that she was experiencing psychosis and was not criminally responsible for her actions. Both sides agree that she caused the deaths; the central legal question is her state of mind at the time. Beyond the courtroom, the case has reignited conversations around maternal mental health, and why awareness, intervention, and access to psychiatric care matter. Postpartum pyschosis (PPP) is rare, affecting roughly one to two women per 1,000 births within the first few days or weeks after childbirth, but it can develop rapidly and is considered a psychiatric emergency. Symptoms include delusions hallucinations, and severe mood changes in the. "The key concern is that the mother's understanding of what is real can begin to change," explains Dr Minakshi Manchanda, associate director, psychiatry, Asian Hospital. Gynaecologist and IVF specialist Dr Vaishali Sharma says postpartum mental health can broadly be understood across three categories: In 2023, a 23-year-old woman in Kochi was accused of suffocating her newborn. In 2025, a woman in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad allegedly placed her 15-day-old son inside a refrigerator. The baby was rescued by a family member. "In India, parents, in-laws and relatives often share responsibility for the mother and baby. This may help the mother get adequate sleep and, importantly, behavioural changes may be noticed earlier," says Dr Sharma. "However, we can't conclude that postpartum psychosis itself is less common in India because of family support."...