Many of us experience intrusive thoughts or images: "I could push that person over" or "I could chop off my finger". These can be dismissed, but can also be distressing. When they become persistent and repetitive, this can develop into OCD.
When someone is pregnant and/or has a child, this can be a vulnerable time for mental health problems and intrusive thoughts or images can increase. Sometimes these can become more persistent and develop into perinatal OCD.
This can lead to certain behaviours called compulsions, for example Jenny experienced intrusive thoughts that germs could kill her baby, so she cleaned her house for hours each day and avoided going outside. Leila experienced intrusive images of her baby being harmed by a knife, so she removed all knives from the house for the first 6 months of her child's life. Nadia had thoughts about throwing her baby down the stairs or letting the pram roll into traffic, so she avoided being alone with her baby.
These thoughts and actions can impact parents lives significantly. However these symptoms are often not recognised as perinatal OCD and so parents aren't getting the best support.
We're trying to understand how we can improve services and understandings of perinatal OCD by talking to individuals who've experienced these symptoms. If you'd be interested in sharing your experiences, please click this link: bit.ly/332XYJu. Those who take part will be reimbursed with a £24 Love to Shop voucher for their time.