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Misdiagnosed symptoms. Missed signs silenced by shame, guilt, or fear. When safety isn’t prioritized in clinical environments, the consequences can be profound. This is one woman's struggle with postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Many patients who experience this event often state how grateful they feel to be alive in the time immediately following the event, however, all those supporting them should allow for, and support, a wide range of emotions so they feel validated in the trauma they experienced to get there.

“I was confused, after all, it is a very weird feeling being so grateful yet so utterly pissed off and sad.”

“I remember crying, feeling like a part of me had been taken away. My ability to have more children and a part of what made me a woman was gone. But I was alive, and at least I have had the opportunity to heal from this and watch my son grow up. …If I had to do this all over again to have him, I would.” The loss of fertility is…a loss. Allowing for grief is an important part of healing.  

The word “congratulations” usually invokes positive thoughts and feelings in most of us that hear it. It is a word that is often offered to those who are pregnant or have just delivered a baby. In most cases, I would like to believe, it is a happy occasion and the new parents receive the word “congratulations” with joy and gratitude. The following story shows us what can happen when we say this word without truly appreciating how a person is receiving it.   I strongly encoura