Alyssa Milano speaks out on postpartum depression amid divisive Lindsay Clancy trial

Averee NelsonSun, August 23, 2026 at 7:49 PM UTC

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Alyssa Milano opened up about her struggle with postpartum anxiety amid the Lindsay Clancy trial -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited

Alyssa Milano is opening up about her struggle with postpartum anxiety after the birth of her son amid the Lindsay Clancy trial that has been dominating headlines.

The actress, 53, known for her performances on Charmed and Who's the Boss?, returned to a story she wrote in 2018 for Time, which was about how she struggled with postpartum anxiety after the birth of her first child, son Milo, in 2011, two years after she suffered a miscarriage.

Milano reshared the story on her Substack and Instagram on Tuesday, Aug. 18, in light of the Clancy case. This comes as nearly $1M was raised to support Lindsay Clancy's parents during the murder trial of her 3 children.

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“As the Lindsay Clancy trial forces a new national reckoning with postpartum mental illness and with what can happen when women ask for help but still fall through the cracks, it feels important to share it again,” she wrote at the top of the Substack article.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of her three children in January 2023 — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan. The day of the killings, she also allegedly committed acts of self-harm and jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, resulting in her remaining paralyzed from the waist down.

Alyssa Milano shared an article on her struggle with postpartum anxiety in light of the Lindsay Clancy trial -Credit:AFP/Getty Images

Clancy’s defense has argued that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for the deaths of her children, as it has been argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. She had undergone psychiatric treatment and medications prior to the January 2023 killings.

Clancy’s trial has opened up a conversation about the mental health difficulties that women can face after giving birth and the lack of resources for mothers suffering with the condition.

Milano clarified in her article that “Postpartum anxiety and postpartum psychosis are different conditions, and my experience is not Lindsay Clancy’s.” She added, “But the trial has brought renewed attention to a truth that connects them: maternal mental-health symptoms must be recognized, believed and treated with urgency.”

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In Milano’s experience with postpartum anxiety, she theorized in her Substack that her “Generalized Anxiety Disorder was most likely triggered by my postpartum depression.” She explained that she had a smooth pregnancy with her son, Milo, up until she experienced complications 10 days before the due date and eventually had to deliver her child via C-section.

Women have rallied behind Lindsay Clancy -Credit:Jonathan Wiggs/Pool The Boston G

“That first night, after we returned from the hospital, I suffered my first anxiety attack. I felt like I had already disappointed my child,” the actress shared. “I felt like I failed as a mother, since I was not able to give birth vaginally or nourish him with the breast milk that had not come in yet. My heart raced. My stomach seized up. I felt like I was dying.”

Milano shared that her anxiety worsened when she returned to work to shoot a television show, months after the birth of her son, in 2011. She also has a daughter, Elizabella Dylan, with her husband, David Bugliari.

“I began to develop irrational and obsessive fears. Like many working moms, I was overwhelmed by guilt for leaving my son during work hours, and like many others who suffer from anxiety, my pain was not taken seriously,” she wrote.

“Every day, I would drive to work and think about all the ways that Milo could die in the hands of his caretakers,” she continued. “Every night, after working 16-hour days, after I was finally able to hold my child and put him to sleep, my day’s anxiety would culminate into a debilitating anxiety attack.”

Alyssa Milano detailed the pressure she felt when returning to work after the birth of her son -Credit:Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Milano ultimately sought help from a psychiatrist during an early-morning emergency room visit, where she stayed in a “public psychiatric ward for three days” at her request.

She noted that through the process, she credited her “angels,” her psychiatrist and therapist. Milano shared that they “convinced me that I had the bravery to face my illness, the value to seek help and the strength to recover.”

Milano raised awareness about mental health, sharing, “Here’s the thing about mental illnesses: you don’t always look sick, and the answers are not always clear or black-and-white. But we should not confront these challenges by placing more hurdles in front of Americans who desperately need the care. I was lucky enough to have the means and the insurance to get the help and support I needed. What happens to those mothers who don’t have the kind of support I received?”

Closing arguments in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial are set to take place on August 25.

If you are pregnant or a new mother and you are in crisis, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish. Call or text the hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).

If in the United States, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to 988 Lifeline.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”