Please consider the information below on the timing of postpartum lab work.
- Hormone (Saliva/Urine): After childbirth, estrogen and progesterone dramatically drop. Prolactin increases to stimulate milk production, and oxytocin increases to facilitate bonding with the new baby. The high levels of endorphins present during childbirth decline, and the decrease of estrogen can cause low serotonin levels. Estrogen and progesterone start to come back to baseline around three months postpartum since symptoms related to hormone imbalance should only be prevalent for about 6 to 8 weeks, but with stress and lack of sleep, there can be hormone imbalances. Stress and sleep deprivation can increase cortisol levels, which can cause hormone fluctuations. These fluctuations can lead to fatigue, irritability, anxiety, depression, and more.
- Blood tests: In the absence of any pregnancy/delivery-related or postpartum complications (i.e., GDM, eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, postpartum depression, etc.), most parameters should return to baseline after 4 weeks. Normal Postpartum Changes table below.
- Glucose/Insulin: Screening within 3 months postpartum is recommended for women who experience high pregnancy weight gain and slow/no postpartum weight loss.
- Lipids: A study that tracked postpartum lipids in women with PPD x 14 weeks found TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C significantly elevated in the early postpartum period and did not return to normal until 6 weeks postpartum. Other studies have examined lipids in women w/ GDM and women w/ consecutive pregnancies and found similar relationships. We’d recommend waiting 12 or more weeks postpartum before testing lipids. See attached studies for more detail.
- Gut Zoomer: “Postpartum diet and sleep can alter commensals and favor pathogen growth, and perturbations in the microbiota that may precede or develop during pregnancy may have lasting postpartum effects” (Mutic et al., 2017). You may find the attached article of interest. We’d recommend testing 3 months postpartum or earlier if you experienced GI symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum.
