UCI researchers measure postpartum depression

Postpartum depression is a serious disorder that needs to be watched closely by a doctor. But a study authored by a UCI researcher might offer ways to help predict who is at risk — even before a child comes to term.

A hormone produced by the placenta is linked to postpartum depression when found in higher levels midway through pregnancy, according to a study by Ilona Yim, a UCI psychology and social behavior assistant professor, and her colleagues. The team of researchers took blood samples from 100 pregnant women and tracked those women’s symptoms of depression during and after pregnancy.

Normally secreted by the hypothalamus in very small amounts, the corticotrophin-releasing hormone is produced in far larger amounts by the placenta. Those women who had the hormone increase more rapidly after 25 weeks of gestation were more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, the study found.

“The hormone we studied plays an important part in pregnancy and has been linked to depression,” Yim said in a statement released to the media. “Many factors may cause some women’s bodies to produce more of this hormone during pregnancy. Evidence suggests that stress early in pregnancy could play a role.”

— Michael Alexander