The relationship between pregnancy complaints and obsessive-compulsive behaviors during the postpartum period regarding baby care: a cross-sectional study

It is known that complaints (nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, breast tenderness, etc.) that occur during pregnancy affect anxiety and mood changes related to childbirth. Complaints may impact women's adaptation to their new situations and roles in the postpartum period. The inability to cope with the postpartum period may cause increased complaints of obsessive-compulsive disorder in women. The present study investigated the relationship between pregnancy complaints and obsessive-compulsive behaviors during the postpartum period regarding baby care. This descriptive, cross-sectional and relational study was conducted with the participation of 265 women receiving prenatal care in an urban hospital in eastern Türkiye. At the first stage of this two-stage study, pregnant women in the last trimester were recruited, and their pregnancy complaints were examined. At the second stage, women were contacted between 2 and 8 weeks postpartum, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors related to baby care were examined. Data were analyzed with the mean, Pearson's correlation, and linear regression analyses. The mean score for the frequency of women's experiencing complaints during pregnancy was 37.71 ± 12.68. The mean score for women's postpartum obsessive and compulsive behaviors was 14.06 ± 5.60. It was found that the presence of complaints during pregnancy was a positive predictor of postpartum obsessive-compulsive behaviors and explained 15% of the variance in obsessive-compulsive behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.015, F = 5.011, p < 0.05). With the increased frequency of experiencing complaints during pregnancy, the rate of obsessive and compulsive behaviors of mothers toward baby care increases during the postpartum period. It is important to screen women for obsessive-compulsive disorder in the postpartum period.