Mq, Google tells me that after childbirth there is no flood of hormones. Rather, there is a rapid fall of hormonal levels back to the norm.
Some evidence the hormones created by the thyroid gland whose name I don't recall may be involved.
seekwellness.com
No one knows for sure what causes postpartum depression (PPD). Hormonal changes in a woman's body may trigger its symptoms. During pregnancy, the amount of two female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, in a woman's body increase greatly. In the first 24 hours after childbirth, the amount of these hormones rapidly drops and keeps dropping to the amount they were before the woman became pregnant. Researchers think these changes in hormones may lead to depression, just as smaller changes in hormones can affect a woman's moods before she gets her menstrual period.
Thyroid levels may also drop sharply after giving birth. (The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that helps to regulate how your body uses and stores energy from foods eaten.) Low thyroid levels can cause symptoms that can feel like depression, such as mood swings, fatigue, agitation, insomnia, and anxiety. A simple thyroid test can tell if this condition is causing a woman's PPD. If so, thyroid medication can be prescribed by a health care provider.
I'm afraid you had it backwards, Mq, but you were on the right track.
I cannot imagine that natural vs. Caesarean birth makes any difference. Google says nothing, but I haven't looked exhaustively.
Seriously though, saving millions of women from depression, broken relationships, failed children and umpty thousands from suicide, is worthy of a Nobel Prize.
Equally seriously, if there existed a Nobel Prize for originality and creative thinking, independent of scientific rigor, you'd lead the pack, Mq. I think this kind of thinking is vastly more important. Anyone can do a double blind this or that, harass white mice with exotic new medications, then measure their reactions, but true genius lies in the original formulation, in the spark that sets off a revolution. The obvious example is Irwin Jacobs, who thought up CDMA in a freeway while dreaming of noisy cocktail parties. He left the boring details to others.
PS: Like a lot of innovators, Jacobs is a Jew. Considering this august forum, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention something vaguely political and international, such as his ethnoreligiosity. Jews fit the bill everywhere they go in this respect, even if all they are famous for is making matzoh balls. |
