Lindsay Clancy murder trial puts postpartum depression in the spotlight on Long Island

When Wendy Isnardi’s first daughter was born in 2002 she thought she had all the support she needed. Her husband took off from work for a few weeks and her mother lived nearby.

About three weeks later, the depression and anxiety she struggled with before and during her pregnancy hit her "like a bag of bricks."

"I went from this loving mother to an anxious mess," Isnardi, 53, who lives in East Patchogue, recalled. "I stopped eating. I wasn't sleeping. I was crying all day long."

She was afraid to share her pain with her husband, fearing that he would "put her away" and take their daughter from her.

As public attention focuses on the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who strangled her three young children in 2023, more women are reaching out to Long Island support groups in an effort to recognize the signs of mental health issues in themselves and other women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, according to one advocate.

For years, advocates have pushed for increased attention to what's commonly known as postpartum depression and mental health services for women as they navigate life when pregnant and in the first year after their child is born. The overarching term used by doctors is perinatal mental health.

One in five people who give birth will experience a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, according to the nonprofit Postpartum Resource Center of New York.

The disorders range from the postpartum psychosis that Clancy was diagnosed with to depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

"These are different illnesses with very different treatments and very different risks," said Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, director of women’s behavioral health at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital. She  said perinatal depression affects one in 8 women. "It’s very common, very treatable." Postpartum psychosis affects "1 to 2 women in every 1,000, and happens very quickly after delivery," she said.

'Build a village'

 At The Nesting Place, a family wellness center with facilities in Farmingdale, Merrick and Yaphank, parental mental health is part of all their programming, starting with prenatal classes.

"What makes a huge difference is getting this information to women when they are pregnant so they know that they're at risk," said Laura Siddons, co-founder of The Nesting Place. "Every mom is at risk."

Siddons said new mothers should "build a village" of support that helps them distinguish between normal parts of adjusting to motherhood, such as anxiety, crying and feeling overwhelmed, to more extreme symptoms that can impact daily functions.

Isnardi connected with Sonia Murdoch, executive director of the West Islip-based Postpartum Resource Center of New York, through a phone call that helped her find a support group and a therapist.

"I was going to do whatever it took because I could not stand living in my head space," said Isnardi. "You can’t put a price on support groups because you are speaking with people who have lived experience and are living proof you’re going to get through this."

Isnardi recounted her journey in a book, "Nobody Told Me: My Battle with Postpartum Depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," and runs perinatal mental health support groups for women at the Resource Center.

She said the Clancy trial has led to an increase in moms who are contacting the Postpartum Resource Center and coming to her support group.

"Attendance has been very high," she said." "It's important for me to normalize it and help people understand our hormones and mental health are so connected."

Resource center

When two Long Island women started the Postpartum Resource Center of New York in 1998, there was not enough mental health education, treatment and services for women after birth.

Sonia Murdock, of Islandia, had supported her sister through postpartum psychosis and severe postpartum depression. Co-founder Emily Sampino, of Melville, had severe postpartum depression after her first baby, Murdock said.

"There were much fewer resources and information was not as accessible," said Murdock. "The internet was just beginning, social media didn't exist ... that's why it's so important now to share available local quality resources ... there is help and there is hope." 

Symptoms of perinatal depression include sadness, loss of interest and not enjoying relationships. Women may also fail to maintain their weight because they lose their appetite, said Deligiannidis.

"We also see a very large anxiety component," Deligiannidis said. "They will say ‘Doc., I'm not depressed. I'm just really overwhelmed and I'm really anxious about whether the baby will be ok and the pregnancy’s ok and how I'm going to be as a mom.’"

She said a smaller number of women may suffer from severe depression. They may feel hopeless or helpless with a level of depression, that will never lift.

"They may say ‘If I didn't wake up tomorrow, that might be OK,’" she said. "Then I know things are very severe and may be going toward a point where they could be considering suicide."

Deligiannidis said postpartum psychosis is very different from other disorders and more rare.

She described it as a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention because the symptoms "can be very dangerous for the woman and those around her."

Women with postpartum psychosis are usually confused and disoriented. Family members may say the new moms don’t seem like themselves and are not listening or comprehending when others speak to them. They may hear voices and experience hallucinations or delusions.

"They start to believe things that aren't true," said Deligiannidis. "I interviewed a mom a few weeks ago and she believed that her baby had special powers and that the baby could read her mind ... The brain tricks the person to believe these things are very real. To this woman, they're reality."

Isnardi gave birth to her second daughter in 2007, without the same crippling symptoms she had experienced five years earlier. It didn’t change the promise she made to herself back then.

"I didn’t think I would ever recover, until I did," she said. "I made a promise to my daughter, husband and God that, if I ever got better, that supporting mom and families would become my mission in life."