OCD in Pregnant women: Prevalence, Risk & Key Differences

Key things to know What the evidence shows
How common is it? 9.1% global pooled*
Is it more common among pregnant women? Higher than general female-population estimates
Are pregnant women at higher risk? #N/A
How much higher is the risk? Older diagnostic meta-analysis: RR 1.45 vs women generally
How often can it be missed? High, especially intrusive harm thoughts
Does it show up differently among pregnant women? Somewhat
How might it look different? Contamination and cleaning/checking often relevant; pregnancy-related harm concerns can occur
What commonly occurs alongside it? Depression; other anxiety disorders
What can it be confused with? Normal pregnancy-related intrusive thoughts; GAD; psychosis
Common screening tool OCI-R
Separate screening tool for pregnant women None
1 of 14