A study suggests that the stress hormones from the placenta may predict postpartum depression before giving birth.
A research team led by Laura Glynn from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., conducted a study to establish a connection between the hormones of the placenta and a pregnant woman's postpartum depression tendency.
The placenta delivers food to the baby while still in the womb and has different levels of hormones called placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone. It becomes more active after giving birth.
170 pregnant women of varying months of pregnancies participated in the study. Blood test was done on each participant to measure the level of placental hormone existent before giving birth. After they gave birth, the team assessed the depression level of each participant up to six months.
Their findings reveal that women that are have high level of placental hormones during the 25th week of pregnancy were at risk of experiencing postpartum depression three months after giving birth.
The study was presented last May 21 in a conference of the American Psychiatric Association and was initially published in LiveScience.
The conclusion is relevant as it will help those women at risk prepare ahead of time so they can better manage the depression. Doctors may assist in the preparing the mindset of the woman and lessen the impact of it's the depression's long term effects. Both the mother and the baby will suffer when the mother experiences postpartum depression.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website presents the statistics of postpartum depression cases in the U.S. Approximately 12 to 15 percent women in the U.S has experienced this depression where some either hurt their babies, suffer from hallucinations, or commits suicide. The center recommends women who have just given birth to not wait for these symptoms before seeking medical help.
