Introduction: Perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder (POCD) is characterised by the presence of intrusive thoughts resulting in significant distress and urges to execute repeated behaviours occurring in the perinatal period. POCD is largely understudied and existing literature has mostly studied POCD quantitatively.
Objective: This qualitative study explores the experiences of 10 mothers randomly selected from a larger sample (N = 251; 86.8% White) who met high risk criteria based on the Postnatal Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (POCS≥16). These mothers were interviewed about their experiences with POCD retrospectively.
Results: Qualitative analysis of the interviews (n = 10) revealed three main themes regarding women's experiences with POCD: 1) obsessions (i.e. safety, cleanliness), 2) compulsions (i.e. excessive checking for safety, excessive cleaning, researching information online), and 3) other emotional experiences (i.e. fear, panic, anxiety, suicidal ideation, guilt, shame, irritability/anger).
Conclusion: Mothers at high risk for POCD report obsessions and compulsions as well as other emotional experiences that are distressing, demonstrating the enduring impact of POCD beyond the perinatal period.
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Anxiety disorders are the most common postpartum psychiatric conditions, yet limited research exists on the prevention of postpartum anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Postpartum anxiety leads to significant problems in both mother and child, such as maternal depression, difficulty breastfeeding, interference with parent-infant bonding, and childhood anxiety. In the current study, we tested the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of an Internet-delivered postpartum anxiety and OCD prevention program, "Preventing Postpartum Onset Distress" (P-POD), in a sample of 15 pregnant women in their third trimester.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychometric evaluation of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in pregnant women.
Arch Womens Ment Health
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Purpose: Although many women experience obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the perinatal period, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) has not yet been psychometrically evaluated in this population. This study examined the internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and factor structure of the YBOCS among pregnant women.
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