The Association Between Epidural Labor Analgesia and Postpartum Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

( Anaesthesia . 2024;79(4):357–367. doi:10.1111/anae.16178. PMID: 37990597) Postpartum depression (PPD) has many adverse effects, including the objective rates of increased maternal and infant morbidity and increased health care expenses, as well as the more subjective effects on breastfeeding, infant and maternal bonding, maternal responsiveness to infant needs, social emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development of the child. A significant challenge in PPD care lies in the fact that some symptoms require treatments that are not safe for pregnant women. Severe peripartum pain has also been associated with PPD, leading to a consideration that a method for clinical improvement may be preventing such pain through epidural analgesia. Recent meta-analyses provide conflicting data and results on whether epidural use reduces risk of PPD. Thus, the authors sought to elucidate this using a randomized controlled trial.