Women's Health: Relationship between asthma, cortisol, and complications in pregnancy ♦ Home births lead to higher infant mortality,♦ Socially integrated women have lower suicide risk

Blood markers identify women at risk for postpartum depression The hormone oxytocin, sometimes called 'the love hormone,' may be a factor in postpartum depression, when a mother has a lower than normal level. A blood marker now may help identify the risk.

Home births lead to higher infant mortality, at least for mothers living in poorer areas Home births lead to higher infant mortality than hospital births, at least for mothers living in poorer areas. This is the conclusion of a new study that examines 356,412 low-risk Dutch women who delivered between 2000 and 2008 and who were allowed to choose between a home and a hospital birth.

Hair samples may offer new insights into the relationship between asthma, cortisol, and complications in pregnancy Hair samples can be used to measure the effects of asthma on the cortisol levels of women during pregnancy, according to new research. This research also shows that levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, tend to be lower among pregnant women with asthma than among pregnant women without the chronic, inflammatory lung disease

Socially integrated women have lower suicide risk Women who were socially well integrated had a lower risk for suicide in a new analysis of data from the Nurses' Health Study, according to an article. Suicide is among the top 10 leading causes of death among middle-age women in the United States.