OCD Around Pregnancy and Parenting
Postpartum and Perinatal Intrusive Thoughts
A frightening thought about your baby can make silence feel safer than speaking. You can bring the thought into the conversation.
A Thought You Never Wanted
Fear Can Attach to What You Love Most
During pregnancy or after a baby arrives, an unwanted image or question may suddenly feel impossible to dismiss. You might avoid changing the baby, hand a routine task to someone else, check repeatedly for signs of danger, or replay an ordinary moment to be certain nothing went wrong. Shame can make you keep all of this private.
Scary, unwanted thoughts about a baby can occur in OCD. A parent is not dangerous because of a thought. That distinction matters, as does a careful assessment of the whole situation rather than a conclusion drawn from a single sentence. Andrea can listen without asking you to make the experience sound less alarming.
What We Pay Attention To
The Alarm and the Response
In session, Andrea asks when the thought appears, what you do next, and what it costs you to keep checking. Reassurance from family, research late at night, avoiding time alone with the baby, or reviewing every movement can bring a moment of relief while leaving the alarm in charge of another hour.
Andrea is Certified in ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention). If OCD is the right clinical understanding, ERP can help you make an agreed plan to approach uncertainty and reduce rituals. Work is shaped around your actual responsibilities and circumstances. It does not ask you to disregard practical caregiving or force an exercise before you understand its purpose.
Finding the Right Care
A Session That Begins Where You Are
Individual Therapy is $225 for 50 minutes. Weekly work can provide a regular time to talk about what happened between sessions, including what you could not say to the people closest to you. You can begin with the fear that telling someone will change how they see you.
An ERP/OCD Intensive is $1,500 for 180 minutes of concentrated, extended therapeutic time when that format is appropriate. A $100 consultation is required beforehand. The $100 is credited in full toward your first paid session or intensive. The consultation is also a chance to consider if another level or kind of care is needed.
Support and Safety
Speak Before the Silence Grows
The pressure to appear grateful and composed can make an intrusive thought especially isolating. You do not need to tell a polished story. Andrea can make space for both the love you feel and the fear that has made ordinary moments difficult.
If you are physically in Texas, Colorado, or Idaho, you can meet with Andrea by secure video. If you are concerned about immediate safety for yourself, your baby, or anyone else, call or text 988 or call 911 now. This site and the consultation request form are not emergency services.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having a scary thought mean I am dangerous?
An unwanted intrusive thought alone does not mean a parent intends harm. A clinician considers the whole situation; immediate safety concerns belong with 988 or 911.
What if I cannot say the thought out loud yet?
You can start by describing the fear and the steps you take afterward. The pace of disclosure can be discussed in session.
Can OCD begin during pregnancy?
Intrusive thoughts and rituals can occur during pregnancy as well as after birth. Assessment helps clarify what you are experiencing and what support fits.
Keep Exploring
Related Paths
You can bring the frightening thought into words.
Start with a $100 consultation. The $100 is credited in full toward your first paid session or intensive.