Predicting Risk of Postpartum Depression

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode: Predicting Risk of Postpartum Depression
Date: March 6, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Dr. Lauren Osborne, Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Department of OB GYN, Weill Cornell Medicine

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Episode Overview

This episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s Women’s Health segment dives into the prevalence, challenges, and potential for predicting postpartum depression (PPD). Hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec are joined by Dr. Lauren Osborne, a leading reproductive psychiatrist, who shares insights from both research and clinical practice on the impact of PPD, the current gaps in support and treatment, and how emerging science could transform care for new mothers globally.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Global Birth Rate Trends and Barriers

Timestamps: 01:50–03:52

• Dr. Osborne highlights multifactorial reasons for declining birth rates, especially in the US:
  • Uncertainty about the future and finances is deterring young people from having children.
  • Increased ability to choose whether and when to have children.
  • Financial pressures remain a dominant concern.
  • Lack of comprehensive, paid parental leave is a significant barrier.
• The U.S. falls behind other industrialized nations in supporting parents during the early months post-birth.

Notable Quote:
"It's still, you still have to ask it as a favor in a lot of places... it's not necessarily paid leave. And that makes a huge difference in people feeling whether or not they can afford it, both in terms of finances, but also in terms of their ability to connect with their child and their emotional bonding with the child."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (03:18)

2. The Gendered Nature of Maternity Policy

Timestamps: 03:52–04:21

• Carol Massar provocatively asks whether the situation would be different if men bore children.
• Dr. Osborne agrees, noting societal expectations of self-sacrifice from mothers and the lack of shared experience from the other half of the population.

Notable Quote:
"I do think it would be different if guys were having babies. I think a lot of the place we're in has to do with just a lot of preconceived ideas about what motherhood is and the self sacrifice that mothers have to make..."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (04:01)

3. Prevalence and Silence Surrounding Postpartum Depression

Timestamps: 04:21–05:14

• PPD is common—affecting 15-20% of mothers in industrialized countries.
• Despite its prevalence, it remains under-discussed, under-studied, and under-recognized.

Notable Quote:
"When you think about it, it's much more common than a lot of other relatively common disorders. And yet it's very little talked about, studied, or recognized."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (04:49)

4. Systemic Gaps in Women’s Mental Health Care

Timestamps: 05:14–06:03

• Dr. Osborne emphasizes how women's health research was historically underfunded and under-emphasized.
• Only a fraction of women receive adequate treatment for PPD: just 3% achieve remission.

Notable Quote:
"Only about 3% of women with postpartum depression are actually treated to remission, so treated until they get better."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (05:53)

5. Approaches to Treating Postpartum Depression

Timestamps: 06:03–06:40

• Varied, evidence-based treatments exist (psychotherapy, antidepressants, newer hormone-based drugs).
• The problem is not the lack of effective treatments but poor access and underutilization.

Key Insight:
"We have the treatments, we're just not getting the moms to the place where they can access them."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (06:36)

6. The Future: Predicting and Preventing PPD

Timestamps: 06:40–07:26

• Dr. Osborne’s research is exploring biological markers and blood tests to predict which women will develop PPD.
• Early identification could allow for targeted, preventive care.

Notable Quote:
"If we had a blood test or something that could really predict who's at risk, we'd be able to target the resources we have toward those moms who need them the most."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (06:59)

7. The Role of Partners and Support Systems

Timestamps: 07:26–08:23

• Support from partners, especially with sleep and nightly routines, can help prevent PPD.
• PPD can also affect non-birthing partners; mutual support is key.

Notable Quote:
"One of the things that we know is a huge contributor to postpartum depression is sleep deprivation... partners who are really willing to invest that time to get up in the middle of the night and help the baby... can really be a prevention of postpartum depression for the mom."
— Dr. Lauren Osborne (07:53)

8. Personal Anecdotes and Societal Reflections

Timestamps: 08:23–08:50

• Carol shares her personal experience, highlighting the importance of partner support.
• Conversation closes with hope of continued research and future updates from Dr. Osborne.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On policy and gender:
  "If guys were having babies... I think a lot of the place we're in has to do with just a lot of preconceived ideas about what motherhood is." (Dr. Osborne, 04:01)
• On under-treatment:
  "...only about 3% of women with postpartum depression are actually treated to remission..." (Dr. Osborne, 05:53)
• On prevention:
  "...if we had a blood test or something that could really predict who's at risk, we'd be able to target the resources..." (Dr. Osborne, 06:59)
• On support:
  "Partners who are really willing to invest that time... can really be a prevention of postpartum depression for the mom." (Dr. Osborne, 07:53)

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 01:50 – Introduction to global birth rates and barriers
• 03:18 – Parental leave policy failure in the U.S.
• 04:01 – Societal perceptions of motherhood and gender
• 04:49 – PPD prevalence and lack of public dialogue
• 05:53 – Underdiagnosis and undertreatment of PPD
• 06:06 – Treatment approaches and gaps in access
• 06:59 – Predictive research in PPD, hope for future screening
• 07:53 – Importance of partner support and shared responsibilities
• 08:33 – Personal anecdote on overcoming sleep deprivation

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Conclusion

This episode offers a thought-provoking discussion on societal, policy, and medical dimensions of postpartum depression. Dr. Lauren Osborne’s expertise clarifies the scale of the issue, the inadequacies of current support systems, and the promise of predictive technologies. Listeners will leave with a deeper understanding of the challenges facing new mothers and the critical need for systemic improvements in women's health care.

Transcript

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Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stenbec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stenbeck]

It is time now for the Business Week Women's Health segment. It's where we focus on key issues and developing technologies impacting the present and future of women's health around the world.

[Carol Massar]

We do welcome Dr. Lauren Osborne. She's Vice Chair of Clinical research, Department of OB GYN at Weill Cornell Medicine. She joins us from Lond. Dr. Osborne is a reproductive psychiatrist specializing in mental health during and after pregnancy. Dr. Osborne, so nice to have you here with Tim and me on Bloomberg Business Week Daily. First up, I just want to do the macro, if I may, and your thoughts about global birth rates here in the US what have you seen in your practice about what's going on and what you see as kind of some of the main reasons? Is it complications in getting pregnant? Is it older age? What do you see from your vantage point?

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

You know, I think it's a variety of things that we're dealing with. Part of it is young people feeling less certain about the world and less certain about their financial futures and being more reluctant to have children. Part of it is being in a place where in much of the world we do have choice about whether or not to have children. I think a lot of it is financial though, unfortunately.

[Tim Stenbeck]

Well, yeah, I mean, we can open up a whole discussion about like what, what different governments could be doing or, or should be doing, in your view, to help encourage this. But, but I feel like at least in the United States, the, the idea of a dad or a mom being able to spend an extended period of time with a newborn is still a luxury. And I wonder to what extent that is something that holds people back.

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

I think that's a huge factor, especially here in the U.S. you know, we are one of the very few industrialized countries that, that doesn't have a standard set of parental leave. It's still, you still have to ask it as a favor in a lot of places. And even though we do have FMLA and people are obligated to give that leave, it's only certain companies, it's not necessarily paid leave. And that makes a huge difference in people feeling whether or not they can afford it, both in terms of finances, but also in terms of their ability to connect with their child and their emotional bonding with the child.

[Carol Massar]

Okay, again, here's another thing that people are going to get hate mail. But if guys were having babies, do you think this would be different and that we would have figured this out?

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

Oh, you've asked a great question. I'm sorry to say. I do think it would be different if guys were having babies. I think a lot of the place we're in has to do with just a lot of preconceived ideas about what motherhood is and the self sacrifice that mothers have to make and the fact that half the population isn't going through that experience.

[Carol Massar]

So let's go to that. Having had a child and just loving actually the whole process and being very lucky, because I know it's not always so easy and I know it can be difficult just getting pregnant. It can be difficult through the process. It can also be difficult afterwards. We know women get postpartum depression. Give me an idea of how common that is.

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

So it's surprisingly common. It's about 15 to 20% of the population in countries like the US and other industrialized countries. So when you think about it, it's much more common than a lot of other relatively common disorders. And yet it's very little talked about, studied or recognized.

[Carol Massar]

Why? Or is it just because we're women?

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

Part of it is because we're women and I think we don't prioritize women's health. It was only in 2014 that the National Institutes of Health required science that is doing research in animals to use female animals in addition to male animals. We're really far behind in terms of the research we have in women's health. We're far behind in terms of the advocacy that we need to get to the answers of why people develop postpartum depression, depression and what kind of supports we need. One of the statistics that I find so shocking is that there's that 15 to 20% rate of postpartum depression. But the rate of women that we actually diagnose and treat is much, much lower than that with only about 3% of women with postpartum depression are actually treated to remission, so treated until they get better.

[Tim Stenbeck]

How does that treatment typically work? Dr.

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

So there's a variety of things that we can use. Fortunately, we have a lot of good and evidence based treatments. We just don't always put them them in place where we need to. There are a couple of different types of psychotherapy that are evidence based for depression, in particular cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. We also know that traditional antidepressants are efficacious in postpartum depression. Then we also have some relatively new drugs that are based on hormonal mechanisms that also have some good evidence for treatment in postpartum depression. We have the treatments, we're just not getting the moms to the place where they can access them.

[Carol Massar]

And I guess in an ideal world, right, you could, it would be great if we could predict if someone is going to likely have it. Is there something to it? And my understanding is that you're researching biological markers that could help predict postpartum depression. What are folks looking for? And I'm just wondering how this could maybe be a game changer for a lot of women.

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

Yeah, I do think it is a game changer because as I said, we have good treatments. We just don't get women to the place where they need to get them. And part of that is that we're not sure who's at risk. Postpartum depression is something that can be caused by many different factors, both psychosocial factors and biological factors. But if we had a blood test or something that could really predict who's at risk, we'd be able to target the resources we have toward those moms who need them the most.

[Tim Stenbeck]

Yeah, look, I think this is something too increasingly that, that partners are understanding. And in a world where, you know, dads, the non birthing partners have an understanding of this, they can increasingly be a supporter or play a role of Support. How does that partnership factor in, in your work and in recovery?

[Dr. Lauren Osborne]

You know, I think that's a huge factor. One of the things that we know is a huge contributor to postpartum depression is sleep deprivation which is common with a newborn. But I increasingly am seeing partners, non birthing partners with who are really willing to invest that time to get up in the middle of the night and help the baby. And that can be such a support and can really can be a prevention of postpartum depression for the mom. We also unfortunately can see postpartum depression in the non birthing partner. So it's really a situation where the two partners have to support each other.

[Tim Stenbeck]

It gets us back to the idea, Carol, of having that flexibility and being lucky enough to have a job where you can actually be away from work to spend that time at home.

[Carol Massar]

I just gotta do a shout out for my husband because he on that and getting sleep would do a nighttime feeding at midnight so that I could at least kind of get four or five hours of straight sleep. And that was part of our routine.

[Tim Stenbeck]

And he still cooks dinner for you every night too. We can't forget.

[Carol Massar]

He does cook dinner. He's a good man. He's a good man. Dr. Osborne, I hope we can continue this conversation. Let us know how your research is going to Dr. Lauren Osborne. She's Vice Chair of Clinical research Department of OB GYN at Weill Cornell Medicine from Oxford.

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