08/07/2026
Why you should pay attention to the Lindsay Clancy case.
I’m not here to argue the case.
But this case forces us to look at something we have been ignoring for far too long.
How we care for mothers.
We have built an entire culture around preparing women to give birth.
Classes.Showers.Nurseries.Birth plans.
But what happens after baby arrives?
We celebrate the baby.
We bring gifts.
We drop off a casserole.
We hold the newborn.
And then…
we leave the mother alone with the weight of becoming someone new.
We tell mothers to cherish every moment while they are touched out, sleep deprived, healing, hormonal, overwhelmed, and sometimes silently unraveling.
We ask,”Is the baby sleeping?”
“Is the baby eating?”
“Do you need anything for the baby?”
But how often do we sit beside a mother and ask, “Are you okay?” And wait for the real answer.
As a society we have made mothers feel like they have to be grateful before they are allowed to be honest.
Postpartum depression doesn’t always look like sadness.
Sometimes it looks like rage.Numbness.Fear.Intrusive thoughts. A mother who loves her baby deeply but feels like she is drowning.
Postpartum psychosis is different. It is rare, but it is real. It can steal a person’s connection to reality. It’s a medical crisis, and the mother deserves immediate care and compassion.
These are not failures of motherhood or character flaws.
They are illnesses.
And we cannot keep romanticizing the postpartum season while abandoning the women living through it.
A baby is born.
But a mother is born too.
It’s time we start caring for both.
