Study summary · research use only
[Oxytocin and postpartum depression]
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This literature review, based on a search of PubMed and Sciencedirect for oxytocin, postpartum depression, pregnancy, and social behavior, examined whether intravenous oxytocin given during childbirth could influence the mother's postpartum mood in human patients. Postpartum depression (PPD) was reported to affect about 10% of mothers, with poor regulation of oxytocin levels described as playing a key role. The review states oxytocin's effects on PPD involve a multifactorial hormonal and social mechanism, that oxytocin has given conclusive results when used therapeutically in psychiatry though the optimal route and method remain unknown, and that PPD has been associated with oxytocin given during labor, though the physiology remains unknown. The authors state oxytocin given during childbirth may relate to onset or worsening of PPD, without determining cause versus consequence.
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is prevalent (about 10%) with a major impact on the mother and child health. At the hormonal level, poor regulation of oxytocin rate has a key role in depression. Recently, oxytocin has been used on psychiatric therapy, intranasal or intravenously, particularly in mood disorders. But, in obstetrics, this molecule is administered during childbirth. The objective of this study was to determine if intravenous administration of oxytocin could influence thymic state of the mother in the postpartum period. Literature review, after consultation of Pubmed and Sciencedirect databases, with the following keywords: oxytocin, postpartum depression, pregnancy, social behavior. The effects of oxytocin in the PPD are part of a multifactorial mechanism (hormonal and social) that influences the hormonal effects of oxytocin. Oxytocin use in therapeutic was able to give conclusive results in psychiatry, the way and the optimal method of administration are not known. PPD is associated with administrated oxytocin during labour. Physiopathology remains unknown. It is possible that oxytocin administered during childbirth is related with the onset or worsening of the PPD without defining if it's a cause or a consequence.
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