Lindsay Clancy, Postpartum OCD, and Intrusive Thoughts After Having a Baby

The Lindsay Clancy trial has brought significant public attention to postpartum mental health and the serious conditions that can occur after childbirth. For women experiencing postpartum OCD, however, the coverage may raise difficult and frightening questions—especially for mothers who are already struggling with intrusive thoughts after having a baby.

It is important to understand that postpartum OCD and postpartum psychosis are different conditions. Although both can occur during the postpartum period, they have different symptoms and require different clinical considerations.

What Is Postpartum OCD?

Postpartum OCD is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that occurs during pregnancy or after having a baby. One of its most distressing symptoms can be intrusive thoughts, images, or fears involving harm to the baby.

A mother with postpartum OCD might suddenly think:

“What if I accidentally drop my baby?”

“What if I lose control and hurt my baby?”

“What if I secretly want to hurt my baby?”

These thoughts can be incredibly upsetting. A mother may begin checking on her baby repeatedly, avoiding certain situations, asking loved ones for reassurance, or trying to mentally prove that she would never act on the thought.

The presence of an intrusive thought, however, does not mean that a person wants to act on it. In postpartum OCD, the thoughts are typically unwanted and inconsistent with the person’s values. 

Why the Lindsay Clancy Case May Be Frightening for Women With Postpartum OCD

The Lindsay Clancy case has involved extensive discussion of postpartum psychosis, mental illness, and questions surrounding criminal responsibility. For women with postpartum OCD, hearing repeated discussions about a mother harming her children can be particularly triggering.

A woman experiencing intrusive thoughts after having a baby may already have a fear that her thoughts reveal something dangerous about her.

Media coverage of a highly publicized case can cause that fear to become even louder.

She may begin asking:

“What if my intrusive thoughts mean I could actually hurt my baby?”

“What if I’m not as safe as I think I am?”

“What if having these thoughts means something is wrong with me?”

These questions can become part of the OCD cycle, leading to increased checking, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, and mental reviewing.

Postpartum OCD Is Not the Same as Postpartum Psychosis

This distinction is especially important when discussing the Lindsay Clancy trial.

Postpartum OCD commonly involves unwanted intrusive thoughts, anxiety, obsessions, and compulsive behaviors. Mothers generally recognize the thoughts as unwanted and frightening.

Postpartum psychosis is a rare psychiatric emergency that can involve symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, severe confusion, and loss of contact with reality.

Unfortunately, the two conditions can become confused in public conversations about postpartum mental health. That confusion can be particularly harmful to mothers with OCD, who may already be terrified by their own thoughts.

Intrusive Thoughts After Having a Baby Are More Common Than Many Mothers Realize

One reason postpartum OCD can remain hidden is shame.

A loving mother may be horrified by an intrusive thought and assume that she is the only person who has ever experienced something like it. She may be afraid that telling someone will cause others to judge her or question whether she is a good mother.

But intrusive thoughts after having a baby can occur without reflecting a person’s intentions or character.

The problem arises when OCD begins demanding certainty.

A mother might repeatedly check her baby’s breathing, avoid holding the baby near stairs, refuse to use kitchen knives, or ask her partner over and over, “You don’t think I would hurt the baby, right?”

These behaviors may temporarily reduce anxiety, but they can ultimately strengthen the OCD cycle.

Getting Help for Postpartum OCD

If you are experiencing intrusive thoughts after having a baby, you do not have to be ashamed of them or face them alone. Postpartum OCD is treatable and it is one of the areas Anxiety & OCD Therapy of Maryland specializes in. Reach out for help with postpartum OCD therapy and you will be understood, not judged.