Women's perceptions of biological causes and potentials of genomic risk markers in postpartum depression: A qualitative study

Introduction: Postpartum depression affects 10-15% of women. Novel evidence suggests that genomic markers for enhanced sensitivity to estradiol signaling may help identify women at high risk of postpartum depression. We explored the women's perceptions of testing for genomic risk markers for developing postpartum depression.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 Danish women who had a history of postpartum depression using a phenomenological approach. A transdisciplinary group of researchers analyzed the interviews thematically. Through the concept of potentiality, we unfolded the women's perceptions regarding testing for genomic risk markers for postpartum depression.

Results: We identified three key themes. 1) Biology as a contributing factor to postpartum depression. Only a few women thought postpartum depression could be related to a sensitivity to hormonal changes. 2) The role of external events in making sense of postpartum depression. Most women perceived their postpartum depression as primarily triggered by external factors rather than biological factors. 3) The ambiguous potentiality of testing for genomic risk markers of postpartum depression. Testing for genomic risk markers was envisioned by some women as having the potential to prevent postpartum depression and reduce stigma. Yet, at the same time, knowing their risk was perceived as holding the potential to induce depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: We found that to some women, knowledge about genomic risk markers introduced hope regarding possible prevention and, at the same time, it introduced concerns about inducing depressive symptoms. We suggest considering such perceptions if implementing new genomic risk marker technologies in risk profiling.