Postpartum Depression May Be Predicted By A Simple Blood Test

Filed in archive Mental Maladies , Pregnancy & Child Birth on February 2, 2009

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 2074898

A new study from University of California, Irvine suggests that measuring the levels of a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy might predict whether a woman is likely to develop postpartum depression.

The said hormone - placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) - has been found linked to postpartum depression.

The blood test, which was found to have a high degree of both specificity and sensitivity, could identify about 75 percent of women who would develop postpartum depression. he test misclassified about 25 percent of the women.

When the blood test was combined with assessing symptoms of depression during pregnancy, it was even more predictive of postpartum depression.

If the findings can be replicated, then testing the level of this hormone might become standard care.

Well if this blood test really works, then that would really benefit us women. Postpartum depression is not something one laughs about. It is a serious condition that can affect a woman's quality of life and her family's.