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The aim of this study was to examine worsening of OCD symptoms after childbirth in individuals seeking assessment or treatment of OCD. The postpartum period may make parents biologically and psychologically vulnerable to OCD symptoms. Participants included 222 parents with OCD who completed surveys through a self-help website. Most women and almost half of men with self-reported OCD reported an increase in OCD symptoms following childbirth. Retrospective report of perceived worsening of OCD symptoms after childbirth was associated with more aggressive obsessions for both men and women, in comparison to individuals whose OCD symptoms did not worsen around childbirth. Women whose OCD symptoms worsened after childbirth reported more impairment in social functioning than individuals whose symptoms did not worsen. These results highlight the need to develop a better understanding of aggressive obsessions in parents, and improve education about prevalence, content, assessment, and intervention for aggression-focused intrusive thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces various topics covered in the issue including the use of metacognitive therapy (MCT), adaption of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for the treatment of scrupulosity-based OCD, and the need for individualized treatments across cultures for OCD.

The article introduces various topics covered in the issue including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and its symptoms, the overlap of symptoms between post-traumatic stress disorder, and the need for interventions around suicidal OCD patients and strategies for dealing with life stressors.