When a mother gives birth, we expect joy. The baby arrives, the congratulations pour in, and everyone asks about the newborn. But sometimes, beneath the smiles and the pictures, a mother is falling apart. The trial of American mother Lindsay Clancy has put one of the darkest sides of maternity back into the spotlight. Clancy is accused of killing her three children in 2023, with her defence arguing that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. Whatever the outcome of that trial, it has forced a difficult conversation about what happens when severe maternal mental
illness goes unrecognised — and what can happen when a mother’s cry for help is missed.
And that conversation is not as far away from home as we might like to think. South Africa has its own deeply worrying warning signs. Research has found high rates of infant homicide in the country, with mothers accounting for a significant proportion of neonaticide cases, while gaps in mental health, reproductive and social services leave many women without the support they need.
So, how do we know when the exhaustion of new motherhood has become something more serious? And are we asking mothers how they are really doing — or are we only checking that the baby is healthy? South African author Kim Vermaak knows that battle personally. Her new book, Taming the Monster of Postpartum Depression, combines her own experience with research and the stories of other women. She joins us now to talk about the mothers who are struggling silently — and why we cannot afford to wait for a tragedy before we start listening.