A labor and delivery nurse who worked with Lindsay Clancy for seven years said Clancy would often become emotional, crying during births, but that she never showed signs of mental illness.
Meg Hamp, a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, shared her observations on Oprah Winfrey's podcast regarding Clancy, who is accused of killing her three young children in January 2023. Hamp testified at Clancy's trial, which ended with a hung jury. Prosecutors have not yet stated if they intend to retry Clancy.
Hamp recounted that Clancy was deeply moved by the arrival of babies, expressing empathy for other mothers.
"I often remember looking up after a baby was born, and Lindsay was my second nurse in the delivery, and just looking over at the mother and Lindsay with tears in her eyes because birth was just so emotional for her," Hamp said. "She felt that for so many other women — not just her friends or her family."
During their time working together, Hamp said she observed no indication that Clancy, then 36, was struggling with her mental health. Hamp also mentioned discussing the case of Andrea Yates, a Texas mother convicted of killing her five children, with Clancy. Hamp had asked Clancy if she was aware of the Yates case, which involved postpartum psychosis, but Clancy said she was not, possibly due to her younger age at the time Yates's case gained prominence.
Hamp expressed disbelief upon learning of the deaths of Clancy's children, Cora, Callan, and Dawson.
"I had a phone call from a colleague. We weren’t 100% sure what had happened, but the address was hitting the news, and I knew her address, so I knew something had happened," Hamp recalled. "She loved her children. She lived for her children, she did everything for them. She wanted all the parenting tips. It wasn’t possible in my mind that this was a person who could murder her three children."
Hamp stated she is devastated by the possibility of a retrial. She emphasized that postpartum mental illness can affect anyone, regardless of their life circumstances.
"I think mental health can affect anyone," Hamp said. "It can affect the person who goes to their dream college, meets the man of their dreams, decides to have a family, buys a house, buys another house as their family grows. It doesn’t matter where you are in life or how many boxes on your life’s bucket list you’re checking off as you go, it can impact anyone regardless of where you are in your life."