What Causes Depression After Pregnancy

There is no single cause for the emotional difficulties many women experience after giving birth. However, experts suspect that rapid postpartum changes in levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone may have a powerful effect on women’s postpartum mental health.

• Progesterone and estrogen are secreted by the ovaries and placenta, allowing the uterus to receive and maintain a fertilized egg. Levels of these hormones increase 10-fold during pregnancy. If levels of these hormones are too low, a miscarriage may occur.

• After childbirth, progesterone levels drop dramatically, reaching pre-pregnant levels about 72 hours after delivery
  Experts suspect that this dramatic shift in female hormones may play a major role in depression after childbirth.

• During pregnancy, levels of endorphins, which are naturally secreted chemicals that make us feel good, also increase. Endorphin levels drop sharply after pregnancy, which also adds to the risk of depression.

In addition to these physiological changes, other factors that may contribute to postpartum depression include:

• Difficult pregnancy and/or delivery

• Problematic or troubled marriage or intimate relationship

• Baby with a high level of needs

• Sense of loss at not being pregnant anymore

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