Medscape (7/25, Phillips) reports that a study published in the August issue of the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia “linking epidural anaesthesia during childbirth to reduced risk for postpartum depression suggests that pain control during labor and delivery may lower women’s risk of developing the serious mood disorder.”
The 214-participant study revealed that “at six weeks postpartum, 14.0% of the [107] women who had opted for epidural anaesthesia during delivery had depressive symptoms, compared with 34.6% of the women who did not choose epidural anesthesia.”
An accompanying editorial called for further research to confirm the study’s findings, “especially in women at increased risk of postpartum depression.” One of the editorialists received partial support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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