iPhone Used As Research Tool For Largest Ever Study On Postpartum Depression

iphone women postpartum depression University of North Carolina Postpartum Depression: Action Towards Causes and Treatment Samantha Meltzer-Brody PPD Act Postpartum Progress Katherine Stone Childbirth

By Arvin Matthew Paculaba , Parent Herald Mar 23, 06:37 am

Medical researchers in the United States have employed the services of one of the most prevalent gadgets in the world to conduct what promises to be the largest study on postpartum depression. Interested women only need to have an iPhone to participate.

The study, which was launched on Monday, aims to comprehensively answer major questions about childbirth and anxiety, as per CNN. The undertaking is spearheaded by scientists at the University of North Carolina and the international research consortium Postpartum Depression: Action Towards Causes and Treatment.

"We believe it's a real game changer for our ability to understand the biologic causes of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis," explained Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, UNC's perinatal psychiatry director. "Our overall goal is to prevent anyone else from suffering from these devastating disorders, and we need to know more about the underlying biology, the genetic risk."

Meltzer-Brody also contributed to the design of a new Apple app called PPD Act. The app is what women would use in order to participate in the research. PPD Act is currently downloadable in the US, the UK and Australia, with wider global availability coming soon.

According to UPI, women who download the app will be asked to answer a chain of questions relating to their pregnancy, moods and anxieties. From the responses, Meltzer-Brody and company will invite approximately 100,000 women to take part in the study by mailing in samples of their saliva.

Scientists will then examine the samples and compare them with one another. This process seeks to explain how genetic differences may affect depression risks in postpartum mothers.

"We want every mom who has ever had postpartum depression to participate in this," said Postpartum Progress founder Katherine Stone. "It's a way of contributing your story and contributing to the science that will hopefully provide more data for people who either develop medicines or develop other types of treatment methods."