Salivary biomarkers for new mothers and fathers

The individual and familial changes of new parenthood are often associated with increases in perceived and physiological stress. Better understanding of physiological stressors in new mothers and fathers, through examination of hormonal profiles, are essential for assisting families in need during the postpartum period, as stress hormones are related to vulnerabilities in partner relationship satisfaction and psychological adjustments. Although self-report measures provide useful information about stress, only physiological data can provide data on stresses “under the skin.” We present new findings from the Community Child Heath Network study of 2400+ families on preconception health. At six-months postpartum, mothers (at all sites) and fathers (at one site) provided salivary samples, later assayed for the stress hormone cortisol. We examined patterns of biomarker participation for mothers and fathers to better understand which individual and familial factors are associated with increased salivary kit completion, which will help identify possible barriers to overall participation in research studies. We also examine the cortisol patterns across the day for a group of matched mother-father pairs. While typical cortisol levels follow a diurnal rhythm, deviations from typical rhythms are associated with adverse psychosocial and physical health outcomes. We study whether parenting, relationship quality, and individual psychosocial factors are associated with cortisol overall levels and changes across the day. Our physiological findings not only indicate possible trajectories for parents, they may also help predict child developmental outcomes. The data provide useful information on biomarker procedures and compliance, as well as allostatic load during the postpartum period.