Research previously found that women with low levels of the "love hormone" oxytocin was more likely to develop postpartum depression. But now, scientists are finding that even pregnant women with high levels of oxytocin may experience the mental condition as well. How can this be?
Oxytocin is a hormone that plays a role in building relationships. That's why it's called the "love hormone." It also gets released during labor in order to aid in contractions, lactation, and the bond between the mother and her child.
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During the previous study, Gunther Meinlschmidt, a psychobiologist at the University of Basel in Switzerland, told US News and World Report that the link between low levels of oxytocin and postpartum depression was too preliminary to be used in predicting the outcome of the condition.
In a report by Fox News, researchers measured oxytocin levels of 66 women in their third trimester and depression symptoms six weeks after they gave birth. Thirteen women who had higher oxytocin levels during pregnancy were found to be more depressive when tested again at six weeks postpartum. They lacked motivation, experienced anxiety and fatigue, and a general sense of sadness. What the study further found was that these thirteen women were already experiencing early signs of depression before their pregnancy.
This matters because it suggests that depression can alter the body's oxytocin receptors, releasing more doses to combat it. That is why elevated levels of oxytocin in pregnant women is being linked to their likelihood of experiencing postpartum depression because turns out, they were already depressed.
Dr. Suena Massey, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine psychiatrist tells Fox News that while this recent finding isn't ready to become a new blood test as of yet, it can be helpful in predicting postpartum depression which affects one in seven women.
