Postpartum Depression Risk Reduced By Epidural Analgesia

23 Jul Postpartum Depression Risk Reduced By Epidural Analgesia

Posted at 19:16h in Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Surgical Research by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Dong-Xin Wang, MD, PhD
Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care
Peking University First Hospital
Beijing 100034, China

Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?

Answer: We found that use of epidural analgesia during labor is associated with decreased risk of postpartum depression.

Medical Research: Were any of the findings unexpected?

Answer: At the beginning of the study, we did not expect that we would get such a definite result. Of course we need to do more work to reconfirm it.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Answer: Considering the detrimental effects of postpartum depression to both new mothers and their family, clinicians should suggest the use of epidural labor analgesia to their patients more actively, especially in China, where use of epidural labor analgesia is still rare.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Answer: A well-designed multicenter study with large sample size will provide further evidence of the correlation between epidural labor analgesia and the risk of postpartum depression. That is what we are planning to do.
Citation:

Epidural Labor Analgesia Is Associated with a Decreased Risk of Postpartum Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study