Prevalence and Persistence of Prescription Opioid Use Following Hospital Discharge After Childbirth: An Australian Population-Based Cohort Study

( Anesth Analg. 2024;138(5):970–979. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006582) Childbirth accounts for nearly 300,000 hospitalizations a year in Australia and is associated with acute pain. Pain treatment has shown that nonopioid analgesics are effective for mild to moderate pain, and opioids are effective for severe pain; the prescription rate of opioids in Australia is considered high, ranked eighth internationally in 2016. Opioid use has many general risks, but in addition to these the risk of persistent use after being exposed to opioids postpartum are elevated. In the United States, this risk has been shown to be up to 2.5 times higher for those prescribed opioids within a week of a vaginal delivery, along with a 1.5-fold risk of developing opioid use disorder and a 2-fold risk of an opioid overdose. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of dispensing of opioid medications following childbirth in Australia, as well as the extent to which individuals experienced persistent opioid use.