Unchecked: OCD and Intrusive Thoughts After Having a Baby: Expert Guidance for New Parents

by Karen Kleiman, Noah Suzuki, Molly McIntyre (Illustrator)

Genres: Parenting

184 pages, Hardcover

Published August 4, 2026

About the author

Karen Kleiman is well known as an international expert on postpartum depression. Her work has been featured on the Internet and within the mental health community for decades. In 1988, Karen founded The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC, a treatment and training facility for prenatal and postpartum depression/anxiety disorders where she treats individuals and couples experiencing perinatal mood & anxiety disorders.

Karen has been interviewed for, featured in, and reviewed by local and national TV, magazines, radio shows and health websites. Her national television appearances include Inside Edition, The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and The Katie Couric Show. A few popular magazines that have featured her work or interviewed her include: Self Magazine, Fit Pregnancy, Parenting, Working Mother, Star, and Mothering Magazine. Karen is featured as an expert on PsychologyToday.com as a “Best Voice in Psychology” as author of her blog, “This Isn’t What I Expected: Notes on Healing Postpartum Depression”.

Reviews

[Scarlett King]

This is book that has done an outstanding job at explaining how OCD can affect the new parents and how to deal with the problems that come along with being new parents. The author is sensitive to this topic which is observed with how clearly she has described different scenarios in which a parent can find themselves in and the techniques in which they can cope with them.
As a person who has anxiety herself, I would say that this book has taught me that I need to take life with a calmer manner instead of being anxious about it all.
The language is simple, concise and easy to understand. I doesn't use any fancy words that the reader might not understand.
The illustrations are simple and colorful and do a Greta job in explaining a scenario. They are enjoyable to look at as well.
I would highly recommend this to all expecting and new parents and also to other people who might be undergoing OCD.

[Amy]

If you have read Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts and What About Us, you will assume this book is just as amazing and you would be right! Another must read resource for new parents, support people and the professionals working alongside them.

[Jess M]

Thank you for writing and helping to normalize this difficult struggle!

[Marinna]

I am a big fan of Karen Kleiman. As a psychotherapist specializing in the perinatal population, I have taken her trainings and found such wealth in her knowledge base. I have read all of her books, but have found her 'Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts' series with illustrations to be the most accessible to clients. I always recommend these books and Unchecked will be no different! This book allows a greater understanding of OCD and intrusive thoughts. OCD oftentimes is overlooked in counseling, as many clinicians still imagine a more typical obsessive (thoughts) and compulsive (behaviors) presentation. In the postpartum period, OCD may look more like very intrusive thoughts - some that can be quite disturbing.

Unchecked in a great source of education for lay people and clinicians alike. Presented in an accessible manner, I think it is a great book to pass along to women struggling in the postpartum period. Although perhaps beyond the scope of this book, my one complaint would be parents of medically complex children are overlooked. Although a lot of anxious thoughts surrounding medical issues may be unfounded in the general population, it is much more difficult to treat clients who have legitimate concerns about their child's health when there is a history of critical needs and illness. These parents seem to be left out of a lot of discussions and trainings for clinicians, which is a shame.

Thank you to NetGalley, Familius, and the authors Karen Kleiman and Noah Suzuki for an ARC of Unchecked: OCD and Intrusive Thoughts After Having a Baby: Expert Guidance for New Parents in exchange for an honest review!