Epidural and postpartum depression

But there is conflicting evidence. If you’re weighing your pain management options during labor and childbirth, new research suggests another reason to at least consider an epidural. While the findings are still very preliminary, they offer evidence that the pain relief an epidural provides may reduce the risk of postpartum depression (PPD) in some women.

Epidural status at time of delivery was noted. Evidence is accumulating that optimal acute pain control reduces the risk for postpartum depression.

Methods: In a secondary analysis of a prospective study, the association between epidural. In multivariable logistic regression, attendance at childbirth classes and breastfeeding after delivery were also independently associated with a decreased risk for depression. August claims that having an epidural during childbirth can cut both the pain of childbirth and postpartum depression. Failure of our study to replicate the findings by Ding, et al. While the answer is still unclear because of some mixed , there are actually a few studies that show an epidural can actually decrease the risk of postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is one of the most common peripartum complications. The literature has conflicting reports of whether labor epidural analgesia decreases the risk of postpartum depression.

Labor epidural analgesia was not associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression according to this meta-analysis. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U. Intrapartum epidural use was not associated with maternal postpartum depression presenting to the healthcare system in term nulliparous women who had a vaginal delivery. Further research is needed to determine if intrapartum epidural use is associated with postpartum depression among women who don’t seek care from a physician. Online Therapy with a Licensed Counselor. Available Anytime, Anywhere You Need It.

The Time is Now to Put Yourself First. In addition, after adjustment of the early postpartum EPDS score, the use of epidural analgesia during labor remained a factor that was associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression. Last, an observational study cannot determine whether the relationship between epidural labor analgesia and the decreased risk of postpartum depression is causal.

And postpartum depression , like all mental health issues, is too complex to be attributed to one single cause. Attendance at childbirth classes during pregnancy (OR CI, 2– P = 15) and continued breast-feeding after delivery (OR CI, 0– P 01) were also associated with decreased risks of postpartum depression. A recent report examining pain management suggests that epidural labor analgesia is associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression (PPD). Archives of Depression and Anxiety Citation: Tobin C Wilson SH, Hebbar L, Roberts LL, Wolf BJ, et al. The researchers discovere too, that the women who attended pre-birth classes and breast-fed after delivery showed a decreased risk of postpartum depression.

Getting an epidural helps keep postpartum depression at bay, but Dr. Lim maintains that it isn’t a sure-fire way to prevent it.

Several factors can lead to the development of postpartum depression, including “hormonal changes, psychological adjustment to motherhoo social support, and a history of psychiatric disorders. Victoria Maternity Doctors is a group of experienced female physicians who share maternity and hospital care at the Victoria General Hospital. This association has been explored previously, but the studies were restricted by small sample sizes and the inability to control for relevant confounders. A recent study of the investigators found that use of epidural analgesia during labor was associated with decreased risk of postpartum depression.

However, several limitations existed in that study and further evidence is needed to reconfirm the finding. The source found out that the pain management an epidural offers and being able to stick to the original plan of delivery can reduce the risk of postpartum depression. However, recent researches don’t suggest this kind of opinion. From that data, the authors then concluded that improvement in pain during labour under epidural analgesia is a significant predictor in the development of postpartum depression symptoms.

The study has some significant limitations including small sample size and different cultural expectations of the participants. Women who reported greater reductions in pain. They may be caused by shifts in hormones, dehydration, exhaustion, or as the result of an underlying.