What Is Postpartum Psychosis? The Condition Is So Much More Than Just The 'Baby Blues'

Postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness estimated to affect only one to two women per 1,000 births, became a major topic of discussion following the tragic deaths of three children at the hands of their mother, Lindsay Clancy, in January 2023. This is certainly not the same thing as the so-called "baby blues" your mothers and grandmothers may have warned you about.

A lot of surprising things happen to your body after giving birth, including unexpected mental and emotional changes. For instance, pregnancy can trigger a mental illness. "Postpartum psychosis is a very severe psychiatric disorder which occurs in the weeks after delivery," postpartum expert Dr. Veerle Bergink explained to CNN. "There is either mania or psychosis. Women feel very good, have racing thoughts, do things would normally never do. Or they lose reality." 

Conversely, the term "baby blues" (aka postpartum blues) is used to describe a common condition with feelings of sadness, anxiety, and even mood swings that postpartum mothers might experience up to two weeks after giving birth. Overall, however, the symptoms are significantly milder than that of postpartum psychosis.

"People [with baby blues] are still able to do their normal daily activities, as much as one can as a postpartum parent, while postpartum depression and anxiety can be much more intense and debilitating," according to Erin Johnson Cole, a women's health nurse practitioner at the University of Utah Health. Postpartum depression is a mental health condition that presents with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety. It's also much more common than postpartum psychosis, affecting one in seven women after childbirth (via Cleveland Clinic). It's worth noting, though, that postpartum psychosis can be really hard to diagnose.

"At one moment, [a] woman [with postpartum psychosis] can look completely like herself. At the next moment, she's very, very ill," reproductive psychiatrist and clinical researcher Dr. Julia Riddle explained to CBS News. To make matters worse, women experiencing postpartum psychosis are often too embarrassed to come forward and seek treatment. "You have to be trained in seeing these things to know when you're seeing it, and you have to catch a woman during the moment when she is expressing these things," Riddle added. Fortunately, postpartum psychosis is treatable, especially when detected early. Treatment options include antipsychotic medications, mood stabilizers, electroconvulsive therapy, and lithium. 

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.