2026年8月21日 / 美国东部时间上午11:14 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：沙内尔·考尔、凯瑞·布林
随着林赛·克兰西一案的审判再次引发人们对产后精神病的关注，一位四个孩子的母亲在《CBS早间新闻》节目中分享了自己罹患这种罕见但凶险疾病的经历。
海莉·阿什科姆一直梦想拥有一个大家庭，2020年迎来第一个儿子凯恩时，她欣喜不已。但不久后她开始受失眠和焦虑困扰。她说，随后症状逐渐恶化。
“我原本以为只是侵入性思维，最后却演变成了幻听，”她说道。
阿什科姆称，她被诊断为产后抑郁症，并被开具了舍曲林——这也是克兰西最初服用的抗焦虑药物。但她说，幻听的声音越来越大，还变得带有暴力倾向。
“我这辈子从未想过活着不如死去，但突然间，这成了唯一的选择，”阿什科姆说道。
阿什科姆说她直接前往医院，和克兰西一样，医生为她开了另一种抗焦虑药物。但她说，幻听“还是持续恶化”。最终，阿什科姆主动入住精神病院，她说自己在那里被确诊为产后精神病——一种她此前闻所未闻的疾病。
“我当时彻底懵了，觉得自己是个怪物，”阿什科姆说道。
围产期精神病学家乌鲁吉·卡迈勒·海德博士在其播客《健康生活》的一期节目中告诉CBS新闻主播诺拉·奥唐奈，产后精神病较为罕见，每1000名产后女性中约有1至2人患病。这种疾病是“现实感断裂”，“大脑无法正常处理信息”，进而引发妄想。海德表示，这些妄想“多为围绕婴儿形成的固定错误信念”。
产后精神病可能发生在任何产后女性身上，但有精神疾病史或既往精神问题的人患病风险更高。病情严重时，患病母亲可能会伤害自己或孩子。
生殖精神病学家、纽约母亲护理中心联合创始人兼首席执行官凯瑟琳·伯恩多夫博士表示，她担心这种疾病存在诊断不足的情况。
“这是一种极具致命性和危险性的疾病，若不及时治疗，会酿成悲剧，”她说道。
伯恩多夫称，克兰西一案的审判堪称人们对该疾病认知的“分水岭时刻”。克兰西的辩方律师称，2023年她在马萨诸塞州家中杀害三名年幼子女时，正处于产后精神病发作期。律师还表示，她当时被过量开具了精神类药物。
阿什科姆表示，确诊后她得到了针对该病的适当治疗，最终得以康复。此后，她又迎来了三个孩子。她说自己再也没有出现过产后精神病的症状。
阿什科姆希望分享自己的故事能鼓励其他有需要的家长寻求帮助。
“你并不孤单，”阿什科姆说道，“寻求帮助，其实是在为自己和孩子做一件非常棒的事。”
如果您或身边有人正在受产后精神疾病困扰，可拨打或发短信至全国孕产妇心理健康热线：1-833-TLC-MAMA。
Mom who struggled with postpartum psychosis describes intrusive thoughts “turning into voices”
August 21, 2026 / 11:14 AM EDT / CBS News
By Shanelle Kaul, Kerry Breen
As the trial of Lindsay Clancy brings renewed attention to postpartum psychosis, a mom of four is opening up to “CBS Mornings” about her own experience with the rare but dangerous condition.
Haley Ashcom had always dreamed of having a large family, and was thrilled to welcome her first son, Kane, in 2020. But she soon began to struggle with insomnia and anxiety. Then, her symptoms escalated, she said.
“What I believe were intrusive thoughts ended up turning into voices,” she said.
Ashcom said she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and prescribed Zoloft, the same anti-anxiety medication that Clancy was first prescribed. But the voices got louder, Ashcom said, and became violent.
“I’ve never in my life gone through a period where I thought it would be better not to be alive, and all of a sudden, it became the only option,” Ashcom said.
Ashcom said she went straight to a hospital, where she, like Clancy, was prescribed another anti-anxiety medication. Still, the voices “just continued to get worse,” she said. Ultimately, Ashcom checked herself into a psychiatric hospital, where she says she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis — a condition she said she knew nothing about.
“I was so taken aback and thought that I was such a monster,” Ashcom said.
Postpartum psychosis is rare, affecting about one to two per 1,000 women after delivery. The condition is “a break from reality” where “the brain cannot properly process information,” leading to delusions, perinatal psychiatrist Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell in an episode of her podcast “Healthful.” Those delusions are “fixed false beliefs that tend to revolve around the baby,” Haider said.
Postpartum psychosis can happen to anyone after giving birth, but it is more likely in people with mental health conditions or a history of psychiatric problems. In severe cases, mothers with the condition may try to harm themselves or their children.
Dr. Catherine Birndorf, a reproductive psychiatrist and the co-founder and CEO of the Motherhood Center of New York, said she fears the condition is being underdiagnosed.
“It’s a very lethal and dangerous illness that when left untreated has tragic outcomes,” she said.
Birndorf said the Clancy trial feels like “a watershed moment” for awareness about the condition. Clancy’s defense says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her three young children at their Massachusetts home in 2023. Clancy’s attorney also says she was overprescribed mental health medications.
Ashcom said that her diagnosis led to her receiving appropriate treatment for the condition, which led to her recovery. Since then, she has welcomed three more children. She never experienced postpartum psychosis again, she said.
Ashcom said she hopes that sharing her story encourages other parents to seek help if they need it.
“You’re not alone,” Ashcom said. “In seeking help, you’re actually doing a really good job both for yourself and for your baby.”
If you are struggling with postpartum mental illness or know someone who is, you can call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA.
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