Lin SS, Gao JF. Woman diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder became delusional after childbirth: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(10): 3261-3267 [PMID: 35603337 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i10.3261]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing-Fang Gao, MD, Chief Doctor, Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 54 Youdian Road, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China.gjingfang1397@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Apr 6, 2022; 10(10): 3261-3267 Published online Apr 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i10.3261
Woman diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder became delusional after childbirth: A case report
Si-Si Lin, Jing-Fang Gao
Si-Si Lin, Jing-Fang Gao, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Lin SS reviewed the literature and drafted the manuscript; Gao JF was responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed verbal consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing-Fang Gao, MD, Chief Doctor, Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 54 Youdian Road, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China.gjingfang1397@163.com
Received: October 22, 2021 Peer-review started: October 22, 2021 First decision: December 17, 2021 Revised: December 22, 2022 Accepted: February 23, 2022 Article in press: February 23, 2022 Published online: April 6, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental disorder that varies greatly in manifestation and causes much distress to individuals. We describe a case in which a Chinese woman with OCD became delusional after childbirth, and discuss the possible phenomenological and psychological alterations.
CASE SUMMARY
A 27-year-old woman presented to the Psychiatry Department of our hospital with obsessions and compulsions. After taking medication, her symptoms were alleviated. Three years later, during her pregnancy, the obsessions returned and even progressed into paranoid delusions after childbirth. After multiple adjustments of treatment along with several fluctuations, she finally achieved remission and gained reasonable insight.
CONCLUSION
This case suggests that the patient with OCD appeared to move along a continuum of beliefs, and highlights the importance of effective intervention during pregnancy, which would exert a significant impact on postpartum exacerbation outcomes.
Core Tip: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental disorder that varies greatly in manifestation and causes much distress to individuals. We describe a case that developed over a decade where a Chinese woman with OCD became delusional after childbirth, seriously affecting her marriage and parent–child relationship. We hope it can remind psychiatric practitioners to attach more importance to perinatal interventions for those who suffer from OCD.
