The immune system may be behind the postpartum depression that affects at least 15% of women. It seems that a rash of some areas of the brain that serve as a mood regulator after pregnancy affects precisely those symptoms such as extreme fatigue, prolonged demotivation and difficulty in establishing a bond with the baby. Despite the fact that until now researches had focused on other causes, mainly on hormonal changes, at the annual congress in San Diego on Neuroscience, the new idea was also presented. This is the first study that focuses precisely on the connection between stress, the immune system, the brain and depression.
From the analyzes that have been carried out, it has been found that women who had stress, anxiety and psychological distress during pregnancy, had the tendency to suffer completely from depression after childbirth. If the pregnancy is smooth, this symptom does not appear. And it is exactly stress that is the key to the mystery, as it affects the fluctuation of the special functions of the brain’s immune cells.
