Postpartum depression is the most common affective disorder in the puerperium. There are some particular symptoms in its clinical presentation, and one might be the higher frequency of obsessions and compulsions. We report six cases identified from the analysis of medical charts of puerperal women receiving care at the Women's Mental Health Program, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil. All the women were diagnosed with postpartum depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and had associated obsessive-compulsive symptoms. We report time of onset, topics, course and treatment response of these symptoms. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms preceded depressive symptoms in two women, and were succeeded in two other women. There was exacerbation of preexisting obsessions and compulsions in two puerperal women. The most frequent topic was aggressive thoughts toward the baby. Improvement in depressive symptoms tended to reduce obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Postpartum depression; puerperium; obsessions; compulsions; comorbidity