Specialists in perinatal mental health have written to the Guardian to praise actress Kimberley Nixon for her openness about her experience of perinatal OCD, while highlighting the urgent need for better recognition and support for the condition.
In the letter, Fiona Challacombe, associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford and patron of Maternal OCD, and co-founders Diana Wilson and Maria Bavetta, describe the devastating nature of the disorder. They note that vivid unwanted intrusive thoughts, images and urges of accidentally or deliberately harming an infant can be highly distressing, isolating and often misunderstood.
The experts, who have worked as activists and researchers in the field for 20 years, say the condition can steal hours each day and lead women to feel they are the worst mothers possible. In severe cases, they add, women may believe that ending their lives is the only course of action.
Despite progress since the expansion of perinatal mental health services in 2014, they point out that Kimberley Nixon's difficulty in accessing timely evidence-based intervention is "still not exceptional." They highlight ongoing problems including lack of recognition, misdiagnosis, inappropriate safeguarding procedures and barriers to effective therapy.
With potentially 7% of women affected in the postpartum period, the authors call for routine screening for OCD at the six-week check and signposting to services, arguing that this could prevent unnecessary suffering and save lives.
