Other Titles

Depression in women: Research regarding mental health stressors and status

Abstract

Session presented on Monday, July 27, 2015:

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of stress response, immune, and depressive symptoms, and explore the relationships among these variables in women predominantly breastfeeding or bottle feeding at 6 month postpartum.

Methods: This is a part of a larger longitudinal study across 6 months postpartum investigating the psychoneuroimmunology of postpartum depression. One hundred nineteen postpartum women who met inclusion/exclusion criteria were followed up from the prenatal period to postpartum 6 months. Data were collected during seven home visits occurring during the 3rd trimester (weeks 32-36) and on postpartum days 7 and 14, months 1, 2, 3, and 6. Women completed stress and depression surveys and provided blood for pro- (IL-1?, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a, IFN-?) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, and collected saliva for diurnal cortisol.

Results: Self-report of predominant breastfeeding during 6 months postpartum ranged from 91.9% at day 7 to 70.6% at 6 months postpartum. There were no associations between the patterns of feeding and depressive symptoms. Biological differences, however, existed between the groups, with levels of salivary cortisol at 8 AM and 8:30 AM at month 6 higher and IL-6 lower in women who primarily breastfed compared to those who primarily bottle fed their infants after controlling for confounding variables.

Conclusion: Breastfeeding was not related to postpartum depression, but differences in stress and inflammatory markers are apparent through 6 months postpartum.

Author Details

Sukhee Ahn, RN, WHNP; Elizabeth Corwin, RN, FNP

Sigma Membership

Alpha Mu

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Inflammation, Depression, Breastfeeding

Conference Name

26th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Conference Year

2015

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Association of breastfeeding with the risk of postpartum depression: A psychoneuroimmune perspective

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Session presented on Monday, July 27, 2015:

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of stress response, immune, and depressive symptoms, and explore the relationships among these variables in women predominantly breastfeeding or bottle feeding at 6 month postpartum.

Methods: This is a part of a larger longitudinal study across 6 months postpartum investigating the psychoneuroimmunology of postpartum depression. One hundred nineteen postpartum women who met inclusion/exclusion criteria were followed up from the prenatal period to postpartum 6 months. Data were collected during seven home visits occurring during the 3rd trimester (weeks 32-36) and on postpartum days 7 and 14, months 1, 2, 3, and 6. Women completed stress and depression surveys and provided blood for pro- (IL-1?, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a, IFN-?) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, and collected saliva for diurnal cortisol.

Results: Self-report of predominant breastfeeding during 6 months postpartum ranged from 91.9% at day 7 to 70.6% at 6 months postpartum. There were no associations between the patterns of feeding and depressive symptoms. Biological differences, however, existed between the groups, with levels of salivary cortisol at 8 AM and 8:30 AM at month 6 higher and IL-6 lower in women who primarily breastfed compared to those who primarily bottle fed their infants after controlling for confounding variables.

Conclusion: Breastfeeding was not related to postpartum depression, but differences in stress and inflammatory markers are apparent through 6 months postpartum.