“…Due to its role in the modulation of social behavior, especially affiliative bonding, oxytocin has been identified as a potential mediator of postpartum depression and anxiety (Sohye Kim et al, 2014)(Kim et al, 2014). Animal studies document a relationship between oxytocin and expressions of normal maternal behavior (Finkenwirth, Martins, Deschner, & Burkart, 2016; Nephew, 2012; Rilling & Young, 2014), as well as with animal models of postpartum psychiatric disorders (Babb, Carini, Spears, & Nephew, 2014; Murgatroyd & Nephew, 2013; Perani & Slattery, 2014) and the effects of labor induction on offspring neural development (Hashemi et al, 2013). This preclinical literature suggests that the use of synthetic oxytocin in the peripartum period may have long-term effects on mood in both mothers and their offspring and led to the recent introduction of oxytocin manipulations as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of postpartum psychiatric disorders (Aleeca F. Bell, Erickson, & Carter, 2014; Kim et al, 2013; Strathearn, 2011).…”