When Everyone Has an Opinion and No One Has a Plan

What the Lindsay Clancy trial and Hayden Panettiere’s death reveal about how we talk about postpartum mental health

Published August 17, 2026

Content note: This article discusses postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, addiction, suicide, and the deaths of children. It does not include graphic details.

It has been a loud few weeks for postpartum mental health.

The Lindsay Clancy trial has now made public discussion of postpartum psychosis, the use of psychiatric medication, criminal responsibility, and the deaths of three children possible. Since then, the death of actress Hayden Panettiere—who had spoken frankly about postpartum depression, addiction, and a traumatic birth—has led to another surge in posts concerning maternal mental health.

The fact is that being loud does not make something useful.

The internet is capable of putting together a jury in less than 30 seconds, each person having a diagnosis, a verdict, a theory concerning the medication, or an opinion as to what a "good mother" would have done.

What is frequently lacking is the kind of information that would actually enable a family to realize when something is changing and to know what to do afterwards.

The two stories are different and to treat them as if they are is part of the issue.

Hayden Panettiere’s death does not give us permission to decide why she died

Hayden Panettiere died on August 16, 2026, when she was 36 years old. As of the time of writing, the cause of her death has not been established. The police have found no signs of trauma or any indication of foul play and the investigation is still going on. At the moment there is no factual grounds for asserting that postpartum depression, addiction, suicide, or any other particular condition was the cause of her death. Associated Press

That boundary matters.

The fact that Panettiere had a history of postpartum depression is relevant since it is because she chose to speak about it publicly and not because we have a right to use her death to finish a story for which we do not possess the necessary facts.

Before, she had explained that she had almost died as a result of the complications that occurred during the birth of her daughter and that she afterwards suffered from postpartum depression and addiction. She also mentioned that she had felt unprepared regarding postpartum depression and that she had wished that someone had told her it was all right. Later on, people commented on her traumatic birth and the fact that she had continued to advocate for others.

She told people what postpartum depression felt like from the inside. She talked about shame, separation from her daughter, addiction, treatment, and trying to rebuild her life while the public watched.

The Lindsay Clancy trial is not a public diagnostic exercise

Lindsay Clancy is currently on trial for the deaths of her three children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan.

Her defence argues that she was experiencing severe postpartum mental illness, including postpartum psychosis, and was not criminally responsible. Prosecutors argue that her actions were deliberate. Testimony has included conflicting accounts of her symptoms, treatment, medication use, online searches, planning, and mental state.

A clip from court is not a psychological assessment.  Neither is a text message, a Google search, a list of medications, a photograph in which someone appears happy, or a stranger’s confidence that they would have recognized psychosis immediately.

The court will reach a legal decision on the basis of the evidence given. Since those who are watching the trial on line do not have access to the full clinical record, we should be careful not to act as if we do.

There remains one thing we can learn from this case, but it is not the question of whether strangers on the internet believe Lindsay Clancy.

The useful questions are:

• What changes should families notice?
• How do we distinguish intrusive thoughts from psychosis?
• What happens when symptoms change quickly?
• Who is responsible for connecting information between providers?
• What should a family do when they believe something is seriously wrong?

The questions might prove useful to the next family, but arguing in the comment section probably won't.

Postpartum mental health is not one diagnosis

A major reason why these conversations become so confused is that 'postpartum mental health' is treated as if it referred to one particular condition.

It does not.

Depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma, bipolar disorder, substance use, and postpartum psychosis can occur during the perinatal period. Symptoms can overlap, but the distinctions matter, particularly when deciding how urgently someone needs help.

Postpartum depression

Persistent sadness, numbness, hopelessness, guilt, irritability, loss of interest, difficulty bonding, withdrawal, or thoughts of deathA parent may understand that something is wrong but feel unable to change it. Suicidal thinking can occur and always requires careful assessment.

Postpartum anxiety

Relentless worry, physical tension, panic, checking, racing thoughts, imagining worst-case scenarios, or being unable to sleep even when given the opportunityAnxiety often centres on preventing something bad from happening. It can be severe even when the parent appears highly organized or functional.

Postpartum OCD

Disturbing, unwanted thoughts or images, often involving harm coming to the baby, followed by checking, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, or efforts to neutralize the thought

The thoughts are typically unwanted and frightening. The person does not want to act on them. Research indicates that people experiencing OCD rarely act on these intrusive thoughts. NIH review

Postpartum psychosis

Confusion, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, disorganized behaviour, rapid mood changes, mania, severe agitation, or a dramatic reduction in the need for sleepThe person may have difficulty recognizing that their beliefs or perceptions are not real. Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency requiring immediate assessment.

This distinction is especially important because parents experiencing intrusive thoughts are often terrified to tell anyone.

If every discussion of unwanted thoughts is immediately connected to a case involving the deaths of children, people with postpartum OCD may become even more afraid to disclose what they are experiencing. Silence makes assessment and treatment harder, not safer.

An intrusive thought that horrifies someone is not the same as a delusion they believe, a command they feel compelled to follow, or an intention to cause harm.

Clinicians need to ask more than, “Have you had thoughts of hurting your baby?” We need to understand the nature of the thought, what it means to the person, whether they believe it, how much insight they have, and what they do in response to it.

Postpartum psychosis is uncommon, but that does not mean negligible

Postpartum psychosis is estimated to occur following approximately one to two of every 1,000 births.

It is often described as rare. I prefer uncommon, because “rare” can be heard as “this probably will not happen here.”

Canada has more than 380,000 deliveries in a typical year. If the estimate of one to two cases per 1,000 births were applied to that number, it would represent roughly 380 to 760 affected families in a year. That is an estimate rather than an exact Canadian count, but it illustrates why an uncommon condition still needs a clear response plan. Health Canada

Postpartum depression and anxiety are much more common. In the 2018–2019 Survey on Maternal Health, 23% of Canadian mothers who had recently given birth reported symptoms consistent with postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder. Statistics Canada

These conditions are not character flaws, failures of gratitude, or proof that someone was not ready to become a parent. They are health conditions that deserve assessment and treatment.

Five questions that are more useful than “Does she seem okay?”

1. What has changed from her usual way of functioning?

A dramatic change matters, even when each individual symptom has a seemingly reasonable explanation.

Is she suddenly suspicious of people she trusted? Is she confused, unusually agitated, speaking in ways that are difficult to follow, or behaving very differently from her baseline? Has her mood or energy changed quickly?

Family members often recognize that someone is “not herself” before they know how to name what they are seeing.

2. Is she tired but unable to sleep, or does she no longer seem to need sleep?

Sleep deprivation is common with a newborn. A dramatically reduced need for sleep, especially alongside increased energy, agitation, unusual confidence, racing thoughts, paranoia, or confusion, is more concerning.

A parent who has barely slept for several nights and is becoming increasingly activated or disconnected from reality needs urgent assessment.

3. Are the thoughts unwanted and frightening, or do they feel true?

Someone with postpartum OCD may say, “I had a horrible image of harming my baby, and I am terrified it means something about me.”

Someone experiencing psychosis may believe the baby is possessed, that people are plotting against the family, or that causing harm is necessary to prevent something worse.

This is not a distinction families should be expected to diagnose on their own, but it explains why careful professional assessment matters.

4. Are there signs of suicide, psychosis, mania, confusion, or immediate danger?

Do not wait for a regular appointment if someone is suicidal, hallucinating, severely confused, unable to recognize reality, behaving dangerously, or expressing beliefs about needing to harm themselves or someone else.

Postpartum psychosis can change rapidly. It is an obstetric and psychiatric emergency.

5. Who owns the next step?

“Reach out if things get worse” is not a plan.

Who is calling the psychiatrist? Who is checking whether the appointment occurred? Who is reviewing medication changes across different prescribers? Who has explained the warning signs to the partner or family? Who will act if the person becomes more confused overnight?

A referral without follow-up can leave a very ill person and an exhausted family trying to coordinate a system they may barely understand.

We need more than screening

Screening is important, but a questionnaire cannot replace a clinical conversation, and one reassuring score cannot predict what will happen weeks later.

Effective perinatal mental health care requires:

• Screening during pregnancy and at multiple points postpartum
• Asking directly about anxiety, intrusive thoughts, trauma, mania, psychosis, substance use, and suicide
• Giving families clear information about what changes require urgent help
• Coordinating care when several professionals are involved
• Reviewing medication response and significant changes in symptoms
• Planning proactively for people with bipolar disorder or a previous episode of postpartum psychosis
• Providing a clear route back into care when symptoms worsen
• Ensuring that someone follows up rather than assuming another provider will do it

It is common for awareness campaigns to advise mothers to speak out, and we also need systems that are ready to respond in such cases.

How to talk about these stories without adding more harm

We can talk about postpartum mental health without pretending to know why Hayden Panettiere died.

We can follow the Lindsay Clancy trial without diagnosing her from court clips or forgetting that three children died.

We can explain postpartum psychosis without suggesting that mothers with depression, anxiety, or intrusive thoughts are dangerous.

We can discuss medication without reducing an entire case to “too many medications” or frightening people into stopping prescribed treatment suddenly.

We can recognize failures and gaps in care without claiming that every tragedy could have been prevented by one appointment, one screening form, or one more attentive family member.

Most importantly, we can stop asking whether someone looked like a loving mother. Mental illness is not reliably visible in family photographs, professional success, a clean home, or the ability to sound composed for ten minutes in an appointment.

What to do if you are worried

If someone appears psychotic, severely confused, manic, suicidal, or at immediate risk of harming themselves or another person:

• Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
• Do not leave the person alone.
• Arrange for another responsible adult to care for the baby and other children.
• Tell emergency staff that the person is pregnant or postpartum and describe the specific changes you have noticed.
• Bring a list of medications, recent medication changes, sleep patterns, diagnoses, and relevant history if possible.

In Canada, call or text 988 if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or are worried about someone else. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

In Alberta, you can also call the Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642 or call 811.

Awareness should change what happens next

Postpartum mental health advocacy is not measured by how strongly we react after a headline.

It is measured by whether a pregnant person knows that mental health symptoms can begin before birth. Whether a partner recognizes that several nights without sleep and increasing paranoia require emergency care. Whether a mother can disclose an intrusive thought without automatically being treated like a danger. Whether providers communicate with one another. Whether someone follows up when a referral is made.

Hayden Panettiere used her public voice to describe experiences many mothers still feel pressured to hide. We can respect that without speculating about her death.

The Lindsay Clancy trial will continue to raise difficult legal and clinical questions. We can follow it without treating tragedy as entertainment or becoming certain about evidence we have not fully seen.

Everyone will have an opinion.

What families need is a plan.

Looking for postpartum mental health support?

Couples to Cradles Counselling specializes in perinatal mental health, with four therapists certified in perinatal mental health and a broader team with specialized training and extensive clinical experience supporting individuals and families throughout pregnancy, postpartum, and the transition to parenthood. We understand that this period can involve far more than the “baby blues.” Our therapists support clients experiencing postpartum anxiety and depression, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, pregnancy or infant loss, infertility, anger, identity changes, relationship strain, and the overwhelming mental load that can come with becoming a parent.

Learn more about postpartum counselling or book a free consultation. Direct billing available with daytime, evening, and weekend appointments available.

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