Women with BD are at higher risk of an episode during pregnancy, perhaps as high as five to ten times more likely, than those without BD. It is thought that hormonal changes, stressors like emotional, financial and familial ones and sleep disturbance may all contribute to a manic episode.

Also, women with manic episodes are at risk for complications to both the mother and fetus during pregnancy and birth. This is generally ascribed to impulsive behaviors associated with manic episodes such as increasing one’s use of a drug of choice or dropped doctor’s appointments or follow-ups.

Perinatal Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Obsessive-compulsive disorders, OCD, in pregnant women strikes about one to two percent of the population. Unfortunately, if a woman already has OCD, her symptoms will more than likely worsen during her pregnancy. But OCD associated with the pregnancy itself, tends to begin rapidly, coinciding with feelings of responsibility for the fetus and tends to focus on the well being of the fetus or newborn.

Research into the mindset of pregnant women has revealed that unwanted, intrusive and strange thoughts about a stressful event is normal, even for pregnancies. OCD’s nasty trick is that the more you try not to think unsettling thoughts, the more you focus on them. And compulsive actions designed to mediate obsessive thoughts lower anxiety, but it doesn’t work in the long run. They simply lead to more obsessive actions and thoughts by the mother.

Symptomatic psychiatric illness like OCD is associated with impulsive behaviors, substance abuse, inadequate nutrition, and poor prenatal care. Some notable results have been preterm birth, lower birth weights and smaller head circumference.

Effects of OCD are depression, avoidance and fear behaviors that present problems caring for the newborn, problems bonding with the infant because of avoidance behavior and problems in many relationships surrounding the mother because of anxiety.