Infant-Related Intrusive Thoughts of Harm in the Postpartum Period

Brok, Elke C.; Lok, Patricia; Oosterbaan, D.B.; Schene, Aart H.; Tendolkar, Indira; Eijndhoven, Philip van

doi:10.4088/jcp.16r11083

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…None of the women in this study reported harsh or abusive behaviour towards the infant in response to IRHTs. This finding corroborates research consistently showing that ego-dystonic thoughts experienced postpartum do not reflect intention to harm, and therefore do not represent increased risk of violence (Brok et al, 2017;Fairbrother & Woody, 2008;Lawrence et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…IRHTs have been associated with distress, guilt and shame, likely compounded by being poorly understood by healthcare professionals and little talked about generally (Brok et al, 2017;Lawrence et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many mothers and healthcare professionals are unaware of the prevalence of IRHTs (Brok et al, 2017). This often compounds mothers' feelings of shame and guilt, resulting in non-disclosure (Barr & Beck, 2008;Fairbrother & Woody, 2008).…”

Section: Several Studies Have Identified Stress As Key In Initiating mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

How do new/recent mothers experience unwanted harm thoughts related to their newborn? A thematic analysis

Boyd

Gannon

2019

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How do new/recent mothers experience unwanted harm thoughts related to their newborn? A thematic analysis

Boyd

Gannon

2019

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

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“…These thoughts may include, for example, ideas of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome (81.4–90%), accidents (83.7–92%), contamination (53.5–59%), or intentional harm (32.6–46%) [2, 3]. Such thoughts usually peak in frequency during the first few weeks postpartum [4]. Although women vary in how distressing they experience postpartum intrusive thoughts of infant-related harm to be, thoughts of intentional harm (i.e., harming the infant on purpose) have been found to be particularly upsetting [1, 5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal unwanted and intrusive thoughts of infant-related harm, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in the perinatal period: study protocol

et al. 2019

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BackgroundUnwanted, intrusive thoughts of harm-related to the infant are reported by the vast majority of new mothers, with half of all new mothers reporting unwanted, intrusive thoughts of harming their infant on purpose. Thoughts of intentional harm, in particular, are distressing to women, their partners and the people who care for them. While maternal, unwanted and intrusive thoughts of infant-related harm are known to be associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression, preliminary evidence suggests that they are not associated with an increased risk of harm to infants. Perinatal care providers and policy makers, as well as new mothers and their partners require evidence-based information in order to respond appropriately to these types of thoughts. The purpose of this research is to address important gaps regarding the (a) prevalence and characteristics of intrusive, unwanted thoughts of baby-related harm, (b) their association (or lack thereof) with child abuse, and (c) the prevalence and course of obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in the perinatal period.MethodsParticipant were 763 English-speaking women and recruited during pregnancy. In this province-wide study in British Columbia, participants were recruited proportionally from hospitals, city centers and rural communities between January 23, 2014 and September 09, 2016. Participants were administered online questionnaires and diagnostic interviews over the phone at 33-weeks gestation, 7-weeks postpartum and 4-months postpartum. The study assessed intrusive and unwanted thoughts of harm related to the infant, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive episode (MDE) disorders and symptomatology, sleep, medical outcomes, parenting attitudes, and infant abuse.DiscussionThere is a scarcity of literature concerning maternal unwanted, intrusive, postpartum thoughts of infant-related harm and their relationship to child harming behaviors, OCD and depression. This longitudinal cohort study was designed to build on the existing research base to ensure that policy developers, child protection workers and health-care providers have the guidance they need to respond appropriately to the disclosure of infant-related harm thoughts. Thus, its main goals will be to investigate whether intrusive postpartum thoughts of infant-related harm are a risk factor for child abuse or the development of OCD.

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“…17 Mothers may hesitate to self-report intrusive thoughts of harm due to feelings of guilt, shame, or fear that voicing these thoughts will signify that they are a bad parent or trigger a report to CPS. 18 Even mothers who are not depressed may experience egodystonic aggressive thoughts or urges toward their infants, particularly if their infants cannot be soothed (eg, because of colic). 19 The source of the obsessional thoughts is critical, as OCD alone has not been shown to increase the risk of infanticide and, if anything, may decrease the risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%