The Association between Maternal Stress and Glucocorticoid Rhythmicity in Human Milk

Abstract

Background: Chronic stress is often accompanied by alterations in the diurnal rhythm of hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal activity. However, there are limited data on the diurnal rhythmicity of breast milk glucocorticoids (GCs) among women with psychological distress. We compared mothers who sought consultation at an expertise center for pregnant women with an increased risk of psychological distress with control mothers for GC diurnal rhythmicity in milk and saliva obtained at the same time. Methods: We included 19 mothers who sought consultation at the psychiatry–obstetric–pediatric (POP) outpatient clinic and 44 control mothers. One month postpartum, mothers collected on average eight paired milk and saliva samples during a 24 h period. GC levels were measured using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. GC rhythmicity parameters were determined with specialized software. Results: For both milk and saliva, no group differences regarding GC rhythms were found. Milk cortisol area under the curve with respect to the ground was lower in the POP group than in the control group (p = 0.02). GC levels in human milk and saliva were highly correlated within each group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Although there were no differences between groups in GC rhythmicity, the total amount of milk cortisol was lower in the POP group. Long-term follow-up is needed to address the impact of vertical transmission of breast milk GCs.

Analysis of cortisol levels in breast milk and blood serum in women with symptoms of postpartum depression

“…According to the foetal programming hypothesis, it can be concluded that when a woman suffers from depression during pregnancy this information is passed on through cortisol to babies who can adapt their behavioural phenotype to the future environment in which they will grow up after birth. This means that women with higher levels of cortisol in breast milk experience more negative emotions in their lives or suffer from depression [36].…”

“…3). In turn, Seth et al [36] in their systematic literature review indicate a relationship between cortisol levels and postpartum depression. Groër et al [37] assessed the level of cortisol after delivery and viewed postpartum depression as a categorical variable.…”

“…Each group consisted of 25 respondents. The first group (n = 25) were women who gave birth before 32 weeks of gestation (TC <32), the second group gave birth between 33-36 weeks of pregnancy (TC [33][34][35][36]. The third group consisted of respondents who gave birth after 37 weeks of pregnancy (TC> 37).…”

Human milk: From complex tailored nutrition to bioactive impact on child cognition and behavior

“…Another study found a relation between maternal hostility and milk cortisol concentrations (Hart et al, 2004). However, a recent study found no significant difference in breast milk glucocorticoid circadian rhythm between mothers seeking consultation for psychiatric complaints and a control group with no mental health issues (Romijn et al 2021). Interestingly, an RCT demonstrated that relaxation therapy reduced maternal stress and hindmilk cortisol concentrations in the early postnatal period (2 weeks), but no effect on milk cortisol was found later on.…”

Maternal cortisol and emotional complaints alter breast milk’s microbiome composition

“…Cortisol released in the systemic circulation appears to be the primary source of BM cortisol concentrations, as BM cortisol was shown to be strongly correlated with plasma cortisol concentrations [26,40]. Maternal stress is a substantial factor influencing higher cortisol concentrations in BM [23,[41][42][43]. Although BM glucocorticoids were first detected in the 1970s [44], few studies to date have looked at their effects on the offspring [26].…”