Maternal parity and perinatal cortisol adaptation: The role of pregnancy-specific distress and implications for postpartum mood

A pattern well described in humans, maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity increases progressively across pregnancy, producing a doubling in maternal cortisol levels from early to late gestation with a return toward pre-pregnancy levels at postpartum (e.g., Conde& Figueiredo, 2014; Smy et al., 2016). Some studies suggest that, compared to women who have given birth before (i.e., multiparous women), those giving birth for the first time (i.e., primiparous women) show overall higher levels of maternal cortisol within this expected pattern of perinatal adaptation (Bouyou-Akotet et al., 2004; Conde& Figueiredo, 2014; Grajeda& Perez-Escamilla, 2002; Tu et al., 2006).
Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research