Pregnancy-induced obsessive compulsive disorder: a case report

• Main Authors: Trivedi Jitendra, Tandon Rajul, Kalra Harish, Janca Aleksandar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2005-06-01
• Series: Annals of General Psychiatry
• Online Access: http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/4/1/12

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Pregnancy is a well-recognised risk factor in precipitating obsessive-compulsive disorder. We present and discuss a case with the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the fourth month of gestation, which fully recovered two weeks after delivery. The phenomenology of the observed disorder was similar to earlier reports of obsessive-compulsive disorder in pregnancy, i.e. the obsessions and compulsions were predominantly related to the concern of contaminating the foetus resulting in washing compulsions. Despite the initial success with anti-obsessional drugs, the patient stopped the medication in the last month of gestation. Nevertheless, she fully recovered two weeks after the delivery without any psychiatric intervention. There were no obsessive-compulsive symptoms at one-year follow up. The possible mechanisms involved in the aetiology of this case, and future research directions in understanding the role of pregnancy in OCD are discussed.</p>