Could a simple blood test determine your risk for postpartum depression (PPD)? Researchers are working on a test to assist in identifying women with a high risk of developing postnatal depression.

Researchers from the University of Virginia, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Indiana University Bloomington, the University of Bristol and Johns Hopkins University, have suggested there is a significant interaction between an oxytocin receptor blood marker and PPD.

The research has always focused on factors like the age of the mother, partner related stress and physical abuse to determine a mother’s risk, but these new findings in oxytocin levels have pointed researchers to the theory that reduced levels of oxytocin could be linked to symptoms of PPD. The symptoms of PPD include intense anxiety, mood swings and feeling of inadequacy.

Oxytocin is the hormone that regulates a mum’s emotions, social awareness and interactions and stress levels. Oxytocin is key for bonding between the mother and her newborn.

The study has been a work in progress with researchers conducting a survey on 545 mothers in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children between April 1991 and December 1992. The mothers provided blood samples during their pregnancy and filled out questions about their mental states.

The research from this survey found the women with these oxytocin receptor blood markers were nearly 3 times as likely to develop PPD. The theory was these blood markers could slow the production of the oxytocin receptor gene which makes the mother less sensitive and less emotionally stable to enjoy a healthy mother-newborn interaction.

More research needs to be done to determine if this is what happens to cause PPD and whether there is a direct link, but there is a push to find a cause in order to support women before they even become mums to determine if they are prone to develop PPD.