Doctoral Dissertation Research: Biocultural dynamics of the postpartum interval

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In biocultural research, anthropologists are interested in the complex interactions between biology and culture that occur throughout the human lifecourse. One important part of the lifecourse is the time immediately following the birth of a child, when mothers experience physiological changes, may be vulnerable to various stressors, and potentially receive help from other individuals. This doctoral dissertation research examines the relationships between maternal postpartum depression, culturally relevant social support, and maternal levels of the hormone oxytocin, to better understand the postpartum period from a biocultural perspective. The project will advance fundamental knowledge about maternal dynamics and the biocultural nature of our species. The research may also have broader public health impact by informing culturally appropriate interventions for improving postpartum maternal health. In addition, the project will support graduate training, international research collaborations, and community science outreach. A cooperative breeding model has been used to describe patterns of infant care in humans. Mothers especially benefit from help during the immediate postpartum when the stress of caring for an altricial infant co-occurs with physical recovery from pregnancy. This project focuses on maternal characteristics in the immediate postpartum, thereby extending beyond previous work that focused largely on reproductive fitness and infant outcomes. Following a cohort of women who share cultural expectations regarding postpartum support, this study will examine whether greater discordance between received and expected social support in the postpartum is related to maternal depressive symptoms, and whether oxytocin and social support levels are related. The project will characterize local cultural expectations of social support via interviews with women. A group of 150 pregnant women will be interviewed during their third trimester, and again approximately 40 days postpartum to determine congruence between received support (reported and directly observed) and cultural expectations of social support, depressive symptoms, and urine oxytocin levels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.