Blood Test Could Identify Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression, the bane of 19 percent of new mothers, may be more easily identified through a simple blood test, according to researchers. Women at risk for postpartum depression—which can occur within the first year after birth–could pinpoint those women who are prone to the condition, possibly averting the mental health condition altogether.

Birthing and parenting a child is one of the most amazing and exciting times in a parent's life. However, there are situations where women may not be in the right frame of mind to care for themselves or their newborn child, particularly when a mother develops postpartum depression. Some women are more prone to postpartum depression than others. Such as, those who have a history of depression, experienced stressful events in their lives, women with no social support, those with low self-esteem, and those who experience anxiety and stress during pregnancy. The condition usually appears four to six weeks following childbirth. This precious time where most mothers bond and nurture their babies, can be a very dark and difficult time for some new mothers who are experiencing postpartum depression, but there may be new steps available to help these mothers.

Based on research conducted by researchers at the University of California and recently published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, there is new evidence that shows a simple blood test to check an expecting mother’s placental pCRH could tell of an impeding fight with postpartum depression. The simple blood tests to check for postpartum depression could be conducted at the same time doctors test for gestational diabetes, which is usually performed between 24 and 26 weeks gestation, according to the study authors.

Dr. Ilona S. Yim, assistant professor of psychology at the University of California and lead researcher of the newly released study along with her colleagues, took blood test samples from 100 women at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 37 weeks of pregnancy. Checking the levels of pCRH, cortisol—a stress hormone— and adrencorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a hormone that actually triggers the release of cortisol, to determine those at risk of the condition. The expectant mothers were also evaluated for depression symptoms during doctors visits for their last four weeks of pregnancy, and again around nine weeks after delivery of their babies. Overall, 16 women developed postpartum depression, with each woman having high pCRH levels at 25 weeks gestation, according to the study. Cortisol nor ACTH levels appeared to have a key link to postpartum depression.

The blood tests identified 75 percent of the women who would develop postpartum depression, according to Dr. Yim’s team. She noted that the blood tests along with the assessments of the mothers allowed for even more, accurate predictions of those mothers at risk for the condition.

No one is entirely clear as to what makes a women more susceptible to developing postpartum depression, but based on the new research, women may have new hope for avoiding the condition. If doctors are able to pinpoint those expecting mothers at risk they could begin treating them with antidepressants during pregnancy. Researchers are hopefully that in the near future a simple blood test may be protocol for all expecting mothers to determine those mothers at risk of developing postpartum depression, which affects entire families and not only mothers.