Postpartum OCD & Anxiety Help in CA

Bringing a baby into the world is a profound transition. For many parents, this period includes joy and unexpected waves of fear, intrusive thoughts, or overwhelming worry. Postpartum Anxiety and Postpartum OCD are treatable conditions, and you do not need to navigate them alone.

WhatIf Therapy provides specialized Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy for postpartum parents across California through secure telehealth. Whether you're soothing a newborn at home, juggling sleepless nights, or adjusting to your new identity as a parent, therapy is accessible, flexible, and designed to meet you where you are.

Postpartum OCD is misunderstood and often underdiagnosed. It includes intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges—usually about harming the baby accidentally or intentionally—that feel terrifying and out of character.

Parents with Postpartum OCD often experience:

• Intrusive thoughts of accidentally harming the baby
• Intrusive images of worst-case scenarios
• Mental reviewing or checking to make sure they’re “safe”
• Avoidance of holding, bathing, or being alone with the baby
• Excessive reassurance-seeking from partners or family
• Rituals to prevent feared outcomes (“If I avoid X, nothing bad will happen”)
   

Having intrusive thoughts does not mean someone is dangerous. In fact, parents with postpartum OCD are extremely distressed by these thoughts precisely because they contradict their values—they represent fear, not desire.

Postpartum Anxiety involves persistent, excessive worry or fear related to your baby, your ability to parent, or your own safety and well-being. It often shows up as:

• Constant “what if” thoughts
• Fear that something bad will happen
• Difficulty relaxing or letting others help
• Physical symptoms: racing heart, stomach tightness, restlessness
• Compulsively checking on the baby
• Trouble sleeping even when the baby is asleep
   

This level of worry goes far beyond typical new-parent caution.

A combination of factors can contribute, including:

• Hormonal changes
• Sleep deprivation
• Major identity and role transitions
• Increased responsibility and hypervigilance
• Prior history of anxiety, OCD, or perfectionism
• Traumatic birth or pregnancy complications
   

These conditions are common and treatable, especially when addressed early.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard, research-supported treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders. ERP helps you:

• Reduce anxiety around triggering thoughts or situations
• Let go of avoidance behaviors that reinforce fear
• Build confidence in your ability to care for your baby without fear
• Break the OCD cycle of intrusive thought → anxiety → compulsion
• Re-engage with meaningful moments of early parenthood
   

ERP is structured, supportive, and paced according to your capacity as a new parent. You’ll learn to respond differently to intrusive thoughts so they lose their power over you.

Clients often seek ERP for:

• Harm OCD (intrusive thoughts about hurting the baby)
• Contamination fears
• Checking compulsions (breathing, sleeping, safety)
• Health anxiety for self or baby
• Fear of being alone with the baby
• Fear of making a mistake or being a “bad parent”
• Decision-making OCD around feeding, sleep schedules, or routines
• Intrusive moral or religious thoughts

These themes are normal presentations of postpartum OCD—not reflections of who you are as a parent.

Your treatment is tailored to your real-life responsibilities, fatigue level, and daily routines. Sessions can include:

• Psychoeducation about postpartum OCD and anxiety
• Building exposure exercises that fit into baby-care tasks
• Reducing reassurance-seeking patterns
• Practicing response prevention in safe, supported ways 
• Supporting partners in reducing accommodations
• Building confidence and flexibility around intrusive thoughts 

You don’t need large amounts of free time—ERP adapts to your life, not the other way around.

Many partners accidentally reinforce OCD by:

• Providing constant reassurance
• Taking over baby care to prevent distress
• Avoiding certain situations “just to be safe”

Therapy includes guidance for partners on how to be supportive without feeding the OCD cycle, strengthening both the parent relationship and the parent-child bond.

Reach out if you’re experiencing:

• Intrusive thoughts that feel distressing or uncontrollable
• Fear of being alone with your baby
• Excessive worry or checking
• Difficulty sleeping from anxiety
• Avoiding normal caregiving tasks
• Persistent guilt or fear about being a “bad parent”
• Anxiety that interferes with bonding or daily functioning

Early support prevents symptoms from becoming long-term patterns.