Prenatal Levels Of Cortisol And Placental Corticotropin...

During pregnancy, the positive feedback loop that plays a part in regulating products of the HPA axis is altered. Prenatal levels of cortisol and placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) have been shown to be elevated during pregnancy. Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone is considered a â€Å"placental clock† that changes the development of the onset of parturition (Glynn, Davis Sandman, 2013). According to Glynn et al., these elevations have been linked to changes in the sensitivity of cortisol in the anterior pituitary and also to a decline in corticotropin-releasing hormone secretion centrally. Also, the HPA refractory period is shown to increase when additions of more extreme adrenal insufficiencies occur. A longer refractory†¦show more content†¦This is in contrast with the low levels of CRH immunoreactivity in plasma found in women who are not pregnant. Women with higher levels of pCRH during pregnancy were more likely to display symptoms of postpa rtum depression three months after giving birth (Glynn et al., 2013). Also, the HPA axis experiences a diminished response across different stressors in pregnancy. Cortisol levels have been found to decrease quickly after birth. Also, many areas of the body are dampened due to the diminished response experienced. These include more areas than the HPA axis, including a dampened blood pressure and a dampened heart rate (Glynn, Davis, Sandman, 2013). The Glynn et al. study found that administration of CRH during the third trimester actually produced no response in the women studied (2013). In addition to parts of the body being dampened, weakened psychological responses to stress have been shown. It is believed that these act as an adaptive value that protects the mother and benefits the child. One of the HPA axis alterations postpartum is hyporesponsivity. With this hyporesponsivity in the HPA axis, two different causes have been proposed. One proposed cause is that a mild adrenal suppression could be due to the sensitivity at the hypothalamus or its reg ulatory inputs associated with a decrease in CRH secretion (Glynn Sandman, 2014). The second proposed cause is that high levels of CRH in pregnancy may desensitize the anterior pituitary to