AI Summary
5 min readIn the spring of 2020, Krithy Loto became a mother for the first time. She had no history of mental illness, had never seen a therapist, and had never taken psychiatric medication. But after a 46-hour labor, a traumatic birth, and four straight days without sleep, she began to behave differently. She felt on top of the world, confident, and hyper-productive. She wrote manic schedules for feeding her daughter, posted on Instagram about having the baby blues, and eventually called 911 herself because she believed she and her husband were both unfit to parent. She was experiencing postpartum psychosis, a condition she had never heard of until she was hospitalized—without her baby, without her partner, and without visitation, for ten days.
On Healthful with Norah O’Donnell, perinatal psychiatrist Dr. Arrouge Kamal Heather and Krithy Loto discuss what postpartum psychosis actually is, why it often hides in plain sight, and why the healthcare system is failing to catch it early. The conversation is framed by the ongoing Lindsay Clancy murder trial, in which the defendant’s lawyers argue she suffered from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis. But the episode is less about that case and more about a broader public health crisis: maternal mental health is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States, and nearly 100 percent of those deaths are preventable.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & The Lindsey Clancy Case** - Norah O'Donnell introduces the episode, framing it around the public’s reaction to the Lindsey Clancy murder trial and the need to understand postpartum psychosis.
- 2 (02:29) **The Public Health Crisis & Stigma** - Dr. Heather explains that maternal mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal death in the U.S., and that almost 100% of these deaths are preventable.
- 3 (04:24) **Postpartum Depression vs. Postpartum Psychosis** - Dr. Heather clarifies the medical distinction between common perinatal mood disorders (PMADs) and the rare but more lethal postpartum psychosis.
- 4 (06:23) **What is Psychosis? A Medical Emergency** - Dr. Heather defines psychosis as a break from reality, explaining it as a psychiatric emergency requiring immediate hospitalization of the mother and safety for the baby.
- 5 (07:42) **Krithy’s Story: A Silent Crisis is Temporary and Treatable** - Krithy Loto introduces herself as living proof that postpartum psychosis is a temporary, treatable condition, offering a message of hope.
- 6 (09:02) **Krithy’s Experience: The Perfect Storm** - Krithy details the specific, compounding factors that led to her psychosis, including a traumatic birth, sleep deprivation, and breastfeeding difficulties.
- 7 (11:49) **Hiding in Plain Sight: Pink Flags** - Krithy describes how her psychosis initially presented as high-functioning mania, not depression, making it invisible to her family and doctors.
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Show Notes
The issue of postpartum psychosis has come to the forefront amid the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the 35-year-old mother accused of killing her three children. What are the signs of a mental break, and is the healthcare system failing mothers? In this special episode of Healthful, Norah speaks with Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider, a perinatal psychiatrist who has treated patients with the rare and severe mental health emergency. She also speaks with Kriti Lodha, a postpartum psychosis survivor who has made it her mission to help other mothers.
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