Pregnancy and OCD

[Nomansland]

Dear all,

I have been suffering from OCD for many years, I have had lots of CBT and it really helped.   So now I am at a point that I am considering having a child.

Being pregnant absolutely terrifies me though,  I  know that OCD tends to become much worse whilst you're pregnant.  

Also I cannot take medication, I have tried two different types of SSRIs and had to stop taking them both due to very bad side effects.  So I am worried that I will not be able to have a healthy baby if OCD will get worse during pregnancy and I will be in the anxious mode all  the time.

I was wondering  if anyone here was suffering from OCD whilst being pregnant and managed to go through pregnancy without the medication? And the baby was okay?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cookiemonster]

I’d seek guidance from mental health team and midwives 

[Wonderer]

Hey, I have two children, I had OCD during my eldest sons pregnancy but didn’t have any during my youngests, the difference between the two pregnancies was my circumstances  to be honest, first time around I was still in school, had a lot of chaos going on in my home life and the worry of not being able to go to uni as planned along with financial concerns, so I’m not really sure just how much hormones played a part in it seeing as when I was in a much more settled position next time around I didn’t seem to struggle. Anyways, my first born was born perfectly healthy and my OCD disappeared literally the moment he was born, I’m assuming the distraction was what helped that! X

[lonely mum]

I don’t think that for me the ocd escalated or changed in pregnancy.  However, having children has broken down some of my ocd issues but then there’s times I’ve struggled because I’ve tried to ‘balance’ the compulsions with having to look after children.  I’m not on any medication for it though so I would advise you to speak with your doctor about this.  

[Nomansland]

Thank you all. x

[Nomansland]

Dear Wonderer,

Thanks for sharing your story  and sorry to hear that you struggled with OCD during your first pregnancy.   It's reassuring though that the baby was born healthy. 

Did you manage to go through your first pregnancy without the medication at all? 

[Wonderer]

On 27/09/2018 at 12:20, Nomansland said:

Dear Wonderer,

Thanks for sharing your story  and sorry to hear that you struggled with OCD during your first pregnancy.   It's reassuring though that the baby was born healthy. 

Did you manage to go through your first pregnancy without the medication at all? 

Hey, yes! I didn’t take anything although I did go to a doctor to talk about a referral to counselling, I didn’t know it was OCD at the time, I thought my hormones were messing with me but years later when it returned and I was diagnosed I was like “oh that’s what was wrong me when I was pregnant!” Although it was quite tough at the time, it wasn’t as severe as it has been in the relapses that came years later. I know it’s a scary thought to have to go the 9 months without any meds should ur ocd get bad but in all reality, 9 months isn’t really a very long time and the focus on the baby coming is a good distraction too! Xx

Edited September 29, 2018 by Wonderer

[Nomansland]

thank you! that's really helpful. xx