Postpartum OCD is much more common than previously thought

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New research suggests obsessive compulsive disorder is far more common in pregnancy and the postpartum period than many providers realize.

 

(Catherine Pearson/ Huffington Post) — For years, common issues such as depression and anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum flew under the radar of both OBGYNs and moms-to-be. Now it’s widely understood that up to 1 in 5 women can suffer from prenatal and postpartum depression.

But startling new research suggests another condition — obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD — continues to go largely unnoticed by providers while affecting many more new mothers than previously recognized.

“We found that the estimated prevalence of OCD across the whole prenatal period — so from the beginning of pregnancy, to the time of the birth — was 7.8%,” said Nichole Fairbrother, a clinical associate professor with the University of British Columbia and the lead author on the new study. (…)

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