2026年8月7日 / 美国东部时间早上7:00 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
美国近期被林赛·克兰西谋杀案的庭审牵动人心。这名35岁的母亲、前护士被控杀害三名子女后试图自杀。她的律师辩称，她当时正患有产后精神病，这引发了人们对产妇心理健康以及这种鲜为人知却严重得多的围产期情绪障碍的广泛讨论。
我们与围产期精神病学家乌鲁杰·卡迈勒·海德博士一同做客《健康生活》特别节目，深入探讨这类心理健康问题——它们是产妇死亡的首要潜在诱因。海德博士解释道，产后精神病是“与现实的脱节”，患者“大脑无法正常处理信息”，其特征为妄想、幻觉和意识混乱。她表示，这类妄想“是固定的错误信念，往往围绕婴儿展开”。
产后精神病属于精神科急症，必须尽快将母亲送往医院，并将婴儿安置在安全场所。但海德博士强调：“只要得到充分及时的治疗，大多数这类女性都能康复，与家人过上幸福美满的生活。”
我们还有幸采访了克里蒂·洛达，这位母亲勇敢地分享了自己2020年与产后精神病抗争的经历。洛达此前并无心理健康问题，但她将发病归因于“睡眠不足、初为人母的压力以及创伤性分娩经历的完美风暴”，认为这些因素共同触发了产后精神病。
她表示，女儿出现衔乳困难并开始体重下降。不久后，洛达的首批妄想围绕着“自己患上产后抑郁症，无法照顾女儿”展开。最终，洛达拨打了911，因为在妄想状态下，她认为自己和丈夫都不适合照顾孩子。
此后，她联系了一位产科医生，帮助评估病情。洛达随后前往急诊室，几天后被转入精神科住院病房。
如今已康复的洛达表示：“我认为重要的是要明白，这只是暂时的，是可以治疗的。我们知道就医途径。及时的治疗和诊断，以关爱和同情之心对待母亲和婴儿，真的至关重要，能带来改变。”
以下是我们对话中的几个核心要点：
“产后”一词的用词不当
海德博士解释道，“产后抑郁症”是一个用词不当的说法，更应被称为围产期抑郁症或围产期情绪与焦虑障碍（包括强迫症和焦虑症）。所有这类障碍都可能在受孕至产后一年内出现。她解释道，产后阶段“只是这近两年时间里的一个短暂节点”。
精神病：罕见但“潜在致死性更高”
围产期抑郁症很常见：每7人中就有1人受其影响。围产期情绪与焦虑障碍整体而言每5人中就有1人出现。
产后精神病则要罕见得多，每1000人中约有1至2人患病。但海德博士表示，它“潜在致死性更高”，因为产后精神病患者有4%的概率犯下杀婴罪。
警惕“粉色预警信号”
“很多人误以为产后精神病意味着母亲突然产生外星人带走孩子的幻觉，或是听到声音命令她这么做，”海德博士说，“但情况并非总是如此，事实上这种情况只占少数。”
实际上，海德博士表示，产后精神病是一个“谱系”，存在她所谓的“粉色预警信号”和“红色预警信号”。产妇身边的亲友务必了解，应当留意这些精神病的早期迹象——粉色预警信号。
举个例子：一位母亲说自己无法入睡，整夜在婴儿房窗边张望，因为害怕有人会抱走孩子。另一个例子：一位母亲表现出轻躁狂行为，特征为异常亢奋、活动量激增。
洛达回忆道，自己当时去咖啡店却无法点餐，或是遛狗时需要别人帮忙。“我觉得有很多事情慢慢累积起来了，”她说。
与此同时，洛达表示自己当时对女儿充满自信和依恋。海德博士重申了精神病的谱系特征：母亲可以保持较高的功能，能够接送孩子上下学，脑海中却同时存在这些妄想。
“所以我的想法很简单，我希望我们能在看到红色预警信号之前，就留意到粉色预警信号，”海德博士说。
三分之二的围产期心理健康问题在宝宝出生前就已出现
尽管产后精神病更常在宝宝出生后发作，但大多数围产期心理健康障碍都是在产前出现的。这也是海德博士为何表示，及早识别风险因素至关重要。
心理健康临床医生越早开始筛查风险因素——在计划生育、试管婴儿阶段，甚至在怀孕之前——就能越早识别出可能罹患产妇心理健康疾病的女性。
洛达表示，令她深感担忧的是，在患病之前自己从未听说过产后精神病：“比如为什么没人告诉过我？他们告诉过我妊娠糖尿病，告诉过我产后出血。”
她认为，“医疗体系辜负了我的家庭，也辜负了我”。
“我觉得我们把太多责任推给了母亲或分娩者，让她们自己去发现这些信号，不管是粉色还是红色预警。我当时根本做不到。这需要我所爱的人，或是我的医护人员来帮忙，”她说。
若对护理水平不满意，请寻求第二诊疗意见
海德博士敦促患者和家属，如果对当前获得的护理水平不满意，可以要求与医生多沟通，或是寻求第二诊疗意见。
她还指出，一次合格的精神科评估时长不应少于40分钟，以评估风险因素。
“医疗体系存在裂痕，我没有解决方案，但我认为我们必须承认这一点，”她说，“我不想让家属对产后精神病感到恐惧，我想赋能他们。我想让他们知道，我们可以识别风险因素。而且，你有权为自己和所爱的人寻求最佳的医疗护理。”
Look for the “pink flags” of postpartum psychosis — and more takeaways from the latest “Healthful”
August 7, 2026 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS News
The country has been gripped by the horrific murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 35-year-old mother and former nurse accused of killing her three children before trying to kill herself. Her lawyers argue that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, raising larger questions about maternal mental health and this lesser-known, but far more serious, perinatal mood disorder.
We sat down with perinatal psychiatrist Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider for a special edition of “Healthful” to talk more about mental health conditions, which are the leading underlying cause of maternal mortality. She explained that postpartum psychosis is “a break from reality” where “the brain cannot properly process information,” characterized by delusions, hallucinations and confusion. Dr. Haider said these delusions are “fixed false beliefs that tend to revolve around the baby.”
Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency where the mother must be sent to the hospital and the baby put into a safe place as soon as possible. But Dr. Haider emphasized that “with adequate and prompt treatment, most of these women go on to recover and have wonderful, beautiful lives with their family.”
We also had the chance to sit down with Kriti Lodha, a mom who bravely opened up about her own experience battling postpartum psychosis back in 2020. Lodha had no prior mental health condition, but she described “a perfect storm of sleep deprivation, being a new mom, a traumatic birth experience,” which she believes may have triggered her postpartum psychosis.
She said her daughter had trouble latching and started to lose weight. Soon after, Lodha said her first delusions revolved around the idea that she had postpartum depression and wasn’t able to care for her daughter. Ultimately, Lodha ended up calling 911 because, in her delusionary state, she believed neither she nor her husband was fit to care for their child.
From there, she was connected with an obstetrician who helped assess her condition. Lodha then went to the emergency room and was transferred a few days later to an inpatient psychiatric unit.
Now recovered, Lodha said: “I think it’s important to note that this is temporary. This is treatable. We know the pathways to care. And so timely treatment and diagnosis and treating mothers and babies with care and compassion really matters and makes a difference.”
Here are some of the major takeaways from our conversation:
The misnomer of “postpartum”
Dr. Haider explained that postpartum depression is a misnomer and should be considered more as perinatal depression or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (which include OCD and anxiety). All of these disorders can present from conception up to a year after giving birth. The postpartum period is “one glimpse of time in that entire almost two-year time period,” she explained.
Psychosis: Rare but “potentially more lethal”
Perinatal depression is common: It presents in 1 in 7 people. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders as a whole present in 1 in 5.
Postpartum psychosis is far less common, occurring in between one and two people out of every 1,000. But Dr. Haider said it’s “potentially more lethal” because postpartum psychosis carries a 4% risk of infanticide.
Look for the “pink flags”
“There’s a big myth that postpartum psychosis means that a mom is suddenly hallucinating that aliens are taking away her baby, or her voice is telling her to,” Dr. Haider said. “That is not always the case. And in fact, that is a smaller percentage.”
In reality, Dr. Haider said that postpartum psychosis is “a spectrum” with what she calls “pink flags” and “red flags.” It’s important for the community surrounding a mom to understand that they should be looking for the pink flags: earlier signs of psychosis.
One example: A mom who says she couldn’t sleep and was looking out the nursery room window all night because she was afraid someone would take her baby. Another: A mom who exhibits hypomanic behavior, characterized by unusually high energy and increased activity.
In Lodha’s case, she described going to her coffee shop and not being able to order, or needing help walking the dog. “I think there are so many things that slowly built up,” she said.
At the same time, Lodha said she felt very confident and attached to her baby. Dr. Haider reiterated the spectrum of psychosis: A mom can be high-functioning, capable of doing school pickup and drop-off, all while having these delusions inside her head.
“So my message, I think it’s simple, and I hope that we look for the pink before we ever see the red,” Dr. Haider said.
Two-thirds of perinatal mental health conditions start before the baby is born
While postpartum psychosis more commonly presents after the baby is born, most perinatal mental health disorders start before then. It’s why Dr. Haider says early detection of risk factors is so crucial.
The sooner mental health clinicians can start screening for risk factors — during family planning, IVF, before you’re even pregnant — the sooner they can identify women who may be at risk of maternal mental health conditions.
Lodha said it was really concerning to her that she had never heard of postpartum psychosis before she had it: “Like why didn’t people tell me about this? They told me about gestational diabetes. They told me about postpartum hemorrhage.”
She said she feels like “the healthcare system failed my family as much as it failed me.”
“I think we put so much onus and burden on mom or the birthing person to be the one to see the signs, whether it’s pink flags or red flags. I couldn’t. It needed to be someone I loved, or it needed to be my provider,” she said.
If you’re not satisfied with your level of care, get a second opinion
Dr. Haider urged patients and loved ones to ask for more time with your doctor or to get a second opinion if you’re not satisfied with the level of care you’re getting.
She also noted that a proper psychiatric assessment should not take less than 40 minutes to assess risk factors.
“The healthcare system, it’s fractured, and I don’t have a solution. But I think we have to acknowledge that,” she said. “I don’t want to scare families away about postpartum psychosis. I want to empower them. And I want them to know that we can identify risk factors. And, you know, you are allowed to seek the best care for you and your loved ones.”
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