'Love Hormone' Level in Mom Predicts Baby Daddy's Fate?

A woman's "love hormone" level after pregnancy could predict whether the new mom has enough love to go around for both the newborn child and her companion or if the baby's daddy eventually gets the boot.

That's the gist of a study-in-process on the hormone oxytocin presented to the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, according to Live Science.

Also called the "cuddle hormone," oxytocin acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain and rises whenever humans hug or kiss a loved one, according to Psychology Today. The hormone also plays a big role in pair bonding and is stimulated during sex, birth and breast feeding.

The new study suggests there's a link between low oxytocin levels in pregnant women  shortly after giving birth and the likelihood of the new parents calling it quits by the time their child is 2 ½ years old.

Jennifer Bartz, a psychologist at Canada's McGill University and one of the leading researchers on oxytocin, said that while her research hasn't been peer reviewed or published yet, she believes the "love hormone" could have such an influence.

Bartz also noted the total number of breakups among couples in the study was small.

"What these data suggest is that lower maternal oxytocin levels are associated with the risk of relationship dissolution by the time the child is a toddler," Bartz told Live Science. "Ideally, the point of using neuroscience methods is, what we know about the biological processes can then deepen our understanding of the psychological processes."

Bartz began questioning the reliability of oxytocin as a so-called "love drug" in 2013, suggesting in work then that the hormone and drug could have varying effects on people, said the Huffington Post 

"(Bartz's) position now, which she discussed … at the meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C., is that the benefits of the hormone – including an oxytocin drug, in the form of a nasal spray – depend on both the person and the situation," the Huffington Post said in 2013.

"Therapies of the future, (Bartz) predicts, will be much more individualized than originally predicted."

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