Pregnancy hormone may help identify moms at risk for PPD

Postpartum depression is way more than just the baby blues. It’s an overwhelming depression that can affect the lives of both mom and baby, as well as the other family members. Left untreated, the depression can lead women to do desperate things. That’s why it’s so important for us to learn how PPD happens and ways to find out earlier if a woman may be more susceptible.

According to a study that was recently published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, 16 women out of 100 in the study developed postpartum depression. The researchers found that if they’d been looking for it before delivery, they’d have been able to identify about 75% of the women by a hormone they were releasing, corticotropin-releasing hormone. These women had higher level of a hormone that is produced by the placenta than did the women who didn’t have PPD symptoms.

It’s a small study, but it’s a start.

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Image: iStock

Tags: pregnancy blog, pregnancy hormone, postpartum depression, PPD, corticotropin-releasing hormone, baby blues