The Association between Late Third-Trimester Oxytocin Level and Early-Onset Postpartum Depression Symptoms among Jordanian Mothers: A Cross-sectional Study.

Purpose: Oxytocin has been suggested to play a vital role in modulating maternal behavior and stress-related disorders. However, the relationship between antenatal oxytocin and postpartum depression is not well established. We aim to investigate the association between serum oxytocin level in the late third-trimester and early-onset postpartum depression symptoms.

Materials and methods: A total of 172 healthy pregnant women participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. The serum oxytocin level was measured between 34 and 37 weeks. A validated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess symptoms of depression four to six weeks postpartum. Participants who scored more than 12 on the EPDS were considered having depressive symptoms. Independent sample t-test and Pearson r were used to examine differences in depression scores. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05.

Results: 30.8% of the participants experienced depressive symptoms. There was no association between EPDS scores and oxytocin level r(170) = 0.10, p = 0.23. The association also did not exist even among women with a lifetime history of depression r(43) = -0.13, p = 0.37. Participants with low education, low income, previous history of depression, positive family history of depression, positive family issues, and absent emotional family support have scored significantly higher on EPDS scores than their counterparts. The strongest association was with previous lifetime history of depression t(170) = -4.40, p < 0.001.

Conclusions: Postpartum depression is a major public health problem in Jordan. Late trimester serum oxytocin level has no association with early-onset postpartum depression.