Tormenting Thoughts: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders During Pregnancy

For many parents, pregnancy fulfills a long-held wish—associated with the idea of feeling nothing but happiness and gratitude. Nausea and fatigue may have been expected side effects. This makes it all the more shocking and unsettling when sudden or creeping fears or intrusive, distressing thoughts about the unborn child arise.

Trying to deal with these challenging thoughts – for example, through controlling behaviors, avoidance, or rituals – takes a lot of time and energy. Those affected feel severely restricted and suffer considerably from the situation.

Worrying about the well-being of your baby or having occasional anxious thoughts is completely normal – and to a certain extent also sensible: they help you settle into your responsible role as a pregnant woman and pay attention to the growing life inside your body. But where does normal concern end and where does an obsessive-compulsive disorder begin?