The Association Between Labour Epidural Analgesia and Postpartum Depression in Primiparous Patients: A Historical Cohort Study

( Can J Anaesth . 2023;70(12):1909–1916. doi: 10.1007/s12630-023-02568-2) Postpartum depression (PPD) poses a significant public health concern, impacting ~6.5% to 12.9% of postpartum patients. There is a known link between peripartum pain and PPD, with labor epidural analgesia (LEA) potentially playing a role in mitigating this risk. Recent meta-analyses have yielded varying results: 2 found no correlation between LEA and PPD, whereas a third reported a decreased risk of PPD with LEA in a high-prevalence subgroup and an increased risk in a low-prevalence subgroup. Considering these findings, the current study sought to investigate the association between LEA and PPD specifically among primiparous patients.