Category Archives: research

Pregnancy hormone predicts postpartum depression, study finds

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I know, I know – old news, right? I thought I had posted this but apparently it never made it to the “majors” and got stalled in the wings. So here ya go.

I have a few gripes with this research starting with what doctors will do with the results once they have them. One would hope they would go ahead and set up preventive care and educate the patient and her family if she did have the elevated level. How reliable is this test? Should it be implemented? Should it be mandatory? Who would be responsible for care if results were positive? Would a team approach be created? This really raises more questions than it answers.

Women with elevated levels mid-pregnancy at higher risk, study finds

Irvine, Calif. – Women who have higher levels of a hormone produced by the placenta midway through pregnancy appear more likely to develop postpartum depression, a study authored by a UC Irvine researcher finds. The discovery could help identify and treat women at risk for postpartum depression long before the onset of symptoms.

Ilona Yim, psychology and social behavior assistant professor, and colleagues found that women whose levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone started to increase more rapidly around 25 weeks of gestation had a higher incidence of postpartum depression. Normally secreted in very small amounts by the hypothalamus, this hormone regulates the body’s response to stress. During pregnancy, large amounts are produced in the placenta and are associated with delivery.

“The hormone we studied plays an important part in pregnancy and has been linked to depression,” Yim said. “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.”

The researchers studied the hormone-postpartum depression link using data from a larger study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. They took blood samples from 100 pregnant women and assessed symptoms of depression throughout pregnancy, then again nine weeks after delivery. Of the 100 women, 16 developed postpartum depression symptoms during follow-up visits. Three-fourths of those women, the study concludes, could have been identified in mid-pregnancy based solely on hormone levels.

New Study to focus on a multi-disciplinary approach to Maternal Depression

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Cynthia Connelly, director of nursing research at USD’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, is leading a $3.1 million, five-year study to identify and treat maternal depression. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, her Perinatal Mental Health Project is the recipient of the largest single grant in the university’s history.

“The various academies — the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Nursing, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists — all support using screening as a part of the practice,” says Connelly. “But there are terrible cost constraints and time constraints that undermine the best intentions.”

Can I just say YAY for now? I’ll definitely be writing more about this study but right now, neither of the kids are napping and my eyes are not staying open on their own very well. But overall I am excited about the potential for this study and can’t wait to share more thoughts!

MOTHER’S Act Reintroduced to 111th Congress

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U.S. Senator Robert Menendez reintroduced important postpartum depression legislation in Senate January 26th, 2009!!


Today, I had the joy of participating in a conference call with the office of Senator Menendez and the other organizational sponsors of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act where we received the heads up that U.S. Senator Robert Menendez was hoping to reintroduce the bill today. And as of this afternoon, that is exactly what he has done!!  For hundreds of thousands of American mothers and families, this renews the hope that 2009 will indeed be the year when Congress acknowledges our nation’s mothers by addressing the full spectrum of maternal experience and finally passing this legislation .
The statistics we have on the numbers of women suffering from perinatal mood disorders (which range from 12 – 22% in the research) easily exceed the incidence associated with a public health crisis. And remember, these statistics, do NOT include the suffering of women who miscarry, endure stillbirths, give up babies for adoption or terminate pregnancies, all of whom are also susceptible to these devastating disorders and whose circumstances are included in the furthering of research and support being sought.
It is not too soon to begin contacting the senators in your state to let them know you support this long overdue legislation!!  And while you are at it, feel free to express your support to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez for whose steadfast determination we are so very grateful.Thank you to Senator Robert Menendez and the bill’s other leading cosponsors, Senators Richard Durbin, (D-IL) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

If your organization would like to become a sponsor of this crucial bill, please contact Emma Palmer  in Senator Menendez’s office at 202-224-4744.

Ugly Babies and Postnatal Depression? REALLY?

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Ok, so there are no words for this one. Maybe there are. But they are not nice ones. I, well, let’s just say some things have slipped out of my mouth in reaction to this doozy that I am not proud of at all. Justified, yes. Nice? Heck no.

Study: “Ugly” Babies and Postnatal Depression

Contact Information for Dr. Reiner Sprengelmeyer

My email to Dr. Reiner Sprengelmeyer just moments ago:

Dear Dr Reiner Sprengelmeyer:

My name is Lauren Hale and I am a two time survivor of Postpartum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder along with a Major Depressive Episode who now dedicates her time providing peer support and education to families who find themselves struggling with a Perinatal Mood Disorder or Paternal Postnatal Depression. I also blog – something I started doing after discovering an unplanned third pregnancy.

I read an article today regarding the recent research you did in which the cuteness sensitivity of young women, men, and menopausal women towards babies was studied. At the end of the article, it stated the researchers planned to study further to uncover if there was a link between the cuteness and Postnatal Depression. I have to admit that I find this vein of research very difficult to understand and I am hoping you would be willing to shed some light on how any conclusion of this research would end in a positive for women struggling with Postnatal Depression. I can tell you that both of my children with whom I suffered PPD are absolutely beautiful and we have constantly been stopped by strangers (and continue to be even now when they are older) to be told how beautiful our children are. How do you dare to even imply to a mother who is already grappling with tremendous guilt about her depressed state that it *may* have something to do with her “ugly” baby? If there is any sympathetic bone in your body, please do not continue with this research. The conclusions can only lead to negativity and harm. If you feel differently, I sincerely would like to hear your side of the story as to why this research is necessary.

Warmest,

Lauren Hale

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that. Hrmph.