"Epidural anesthesia may do more than relieve pain during labor in some women it may decrease the likelihood of postpartum depression suggests a preliminary study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY  annual meeting https_sourceasahqutm_mediumlandingpageutm_campaignAnnualMeeting. Labor pain matters more than just for the birth experience. It may be psychologically harmful for some women and play a significant role in the development of postpartum depression said Grace Lim M.D. director of obstetric anesthesiology at Magee Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and lead investigator on the study. We found that certain women who experience good pain relief from epidural analgesia are less likely to exhibit depressive symptoms in the postpartum period.  The researchers controlled for factors already known to increase the risk for postpartum depression including preexisting depression and anxiety as well as postdelivery pain caused by tissue trauma during childbirth. After accounting for these factors the study found that in some women labor pain was still a significant risk factor for postpartum depression symptoms. And therefore alleviating this pain might help reduce the risk for postpartum depression. In the study researchers reviewed the medical records of  women who used epidural analgesia and had their pain assessed using a  scale during labor. They calculated the percent improvement in pain PIP throughout labor after the implementation of epidural analgesia. Depression risk was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale EPDS six weeks after childbirth. Researchers found the higher the PIP scores the lower the EPDS scores.  Although we found an association between women who experience less pain during labor and lower risk for postpartum depression we do not know if effective pain control with epidural analgesia will assure avoidance of the condition said Dr. Lim. Postpartum depression can develop from a number of things including hormonal changes psychological adjustment to motherhood social support and a history of psychiatric disorders. Labor pain may be more problematic for some women than others the authors note. Additional research is needed to identify which women are more likely to experience severe labor pain and who would benefit the most from effective labor paincontrol strategies to help reduce the risk and affect of pain on postpartum recovery.  THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTSFounded in  the American Society of Anesthesiologists ASA is an educational research and scientific society with more than  members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.  For more information on the field of anesthesiology visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org httpasahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety visit asahq.orgWhenSecondsCount http Join the ANESTHESIOLOGY  social conversation today. Like ASA on Facebook https follow ASALifeline http on Twitter and use the hashtag ANES."