Course of obsessive-compulsive disorder during early postpartum period: a prospective analysis of 16 cases.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the current study was to prospectively examine a course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during the early postpartum period.


METHODS
The study data were collected from 16 pregnant women with a diagnosis of OCD according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I). Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms were assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) before and after childbirth. Psychopharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatments were not administered over the study period.


RESULTS
Scores of the mean Y-BOCS-total and Y-BOCS-obsession were significantly reduced from the basal levels to 6 weeks postnatally. No significant difference was found in terms of Y-BOCS-compulsion between 2 interviews. During the study period, whereas the Y-BOCS-total scores were decreased by at least 25% in 8 (50.0%) of 16 patients, only 1 (6.2%) of 16 patients experienced at least a 25% increase in the same scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The results from a small patient group suggest that some patients may experience a marked improvement in preexisting OCD symptoms after childbirth.
Uguz
Faruk
F
Department of Psychiatry, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Selçuk University, 42080 Konya, Turkey. farukuguz@hotmail.com
Gezginc
Kazim
K
Zeytinci
Ismet Esra
IE
Karatayli
Savas
S
Askin
Rustem
R
Guler
Ozkan
O
Sahin
Figen Kir
FK
Emul
H Murat
HM
Ozbulut
Omer
O
Gecici
Omer
O
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index