New research in the Archives of General Psychiatry suggests that women with higher levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing post-partum depression.

 

Previous studies have emphasized the importance of tracking postpartum depression in time, as women developing this kind of depression are more likely to commit suicide or even hurt their babies.

 

“The high incidence and severe consequences of postpartum depression make the identification of women at risk an important research goal,” said Dr. Ilona S. Yim at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues.

 

For the study, the team of researchers took blood samples from 100 pregnant women at two medical centers in California at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 37 weeks of pregnancy and tested for levels of CRH, as well as cortisol, a stress hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which triggers the release of cortisol.

 

Overall, 16 women developed postpartum depression. The study found that in each case, the women had had high levels of CRH at 25 weeks into their pregnancies. The blood test could identify about 75 percent of women who would develop postpartum depression and misclassified about 25 percent of the women.

 

If the findings are confirmed, this hormonal test may become standard procedure, Dr. Yim said.       

 

According to statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, postpartum depression affects one woman out of five. Teenage mothers with less than 12 years of education, Medicaid patients, smokers, victims of physical abuse before or during pregnancy and women under financial stress during pregnancy are especially at risk of postpartum depression.