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Hormone

Postpartum depression

Researchers said, spiking & sinking levels of a hormone that prepares a pregnant woman may tells why some women suffer postpartum depression. In a research more then of 500 women, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found 200 out of 250 women who had postpartum depression also had high levels of a hormone circulating in the placenta midway through pregnancy.

Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), is normally produced in tiny amounts by the hypothalamus near the brain in response to stress. In pregnant women, the placenta pumps out 100 times more CRH than is normally produced by the hypothalamus. The hormone has been nicknamed the "placental clock" because it is thought to prepare the woman's body for childbirth. CRH triggers a cascade of reactions in the pituitary and adrenal glands that culminates in increased output of stress hormones like cortisol.

Previous research suggested an overactive stress response plays a role in heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and autoimmune disorders. Stress hormones produced by a dysfunctional endocrine system may also trigger mental disorders like depression.

Postpartum depression strikes those who experience the biggest change in the hormone levels. Women who had high levels of CRH 25 weeks into their pregnancy were more likely to experience postpartum depression. Postpartum depression affects as many as 1 in 5 women 4 to six weeks after childbirth, and 7% of new mothers suffer a major depression. If not addressed, women can become so despondent they attempt suicide, and some harm or neglect their newborns. Previous bouts of depression, a lack of social support, low self-esteem and a stressful pregnancy all increase the likelihood of postpartum depression, according to the study, which appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The report suggested that a routine blood screening, which would coincide with a commonly performed prenatal diabetes test, could determine levels of the hormone at around 25 weeks to identify women at risk.

1 Comments Here::

R V said...

Very nice information about CRH. You just explain everything so very well, there is no one better.