I saw my baby as an alien I wanted to hurt
Ivana Poku suffered from postnatal psychosis - a condition which is alleged to have caused Lindsay Clancy to kill her three children
TL;DR
- Ivana Poku experienced severe intrusive thoughts of harming her baby, leading her to isolate herself and seek safety measures.
- She believes she suffered from postpartum psychosis, a condition that can distort reality and lead to dangerous actions.
- Poku draws a parallel to the case of Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial for murdering her three children, with her defense claiming postpartum psychosis.
- Postpartum psychosis affects about 1 in 1,000 mothers in the UK and is linked to stress, sleep deprivation, and hormonal changes.
- Clancy's defense argues she was overmedicated and suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression, with her mental health deteriorating before the killings.
- Poku highlights that many mothers suffering from postpartum psychosis struggle to open up due to a lack of safe spaces and empathetic support systems.
- Signs of postpartum psychosis include not needing sleep, rapid and disconnected speech, agitation, confusion, paranoia, and out-of-character behavior.
- Poku has since received treatment, written a book, and runs a blog, advocating for greater awareness and support for postpartum mental health conditions.