[OCD during pregnancy and post partum]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can occur with specific characteristics during the pregnancy/postpartum period. The presence of OCD in a such delicate period in a woman's life can lead to severe suffering of the patient herself, of her relatives and the newborn. The purpose of this article is to offer a comprehensive review of scientific literature concerning the relationship between OCD and pregnancy/post partum.

Literature was identified by searching in Medline (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System On-line), using the PubMed search engine. The keywords used were "obsessive-compulsive disorder", "pregnancy", "post partum period", "perinatal period".

The last trimester of pregnancy and the post partum period are at increased risk of onset of OCD, especially in susceptible individuals. During pregnancy/post partum, OCD is characterized by typical clinical features: obsessions (in particular aggressive and/or contamination) are more frequent than compulsions (checking and/or washing); further, if untreated, the symptomatology tends to persist and/or recur during any subsequent pregnancies.

From the literature it appears that the diagnosis of OCD during pregnancy/post partum should be performed as soon as possible, both to ensure the correct patient and family psychoeducation, and timely access to psychopharmacological treatment and/or psychotherapy.