Observational studyBMC pregnancy and childbirth2020
Obstetric pain correlates with postpartum depression symptoms: a pilot prospective observational study.
Observational study in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations between maternal birth complications and postpartum depressive symptoms: A systematic narrative review and meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- Use of a single pain coping skills session (Empowered Relief) for outpatient postpartum pain following cesarean delivery: a pilot feasibility study.International journal of obstetric anesthesia · 2026Trial
- Effects of an arms-crossing technique added to Lamaze breathing on labour pain: a randomised controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Trial
- Effects of hydromorphone-based patient-controlled intravenous analgesia on postpartum depression after cesarean section: a prospective randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Trial
- The comparison of the effect of non-pharmacological pain relief and pharmacological analgesia with remifentanil on fear of childbirth and postpartum depression: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Trial
- The Effect of Listening to the Recitation of the Surah Al-Inshirah on Labor Pain, Anxiety and Comfort in Muslim Women: A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of religion and health · 2022Trial
- The association between sleep trajectories throughout pregnancy and postpartum pain in individuals with overweight or obesity: A prospective cohort study.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2026Article
- The impact of combined spinal-epidural analgesia (CSEA) on postpartum depression: A Mendelian randomization study.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2026Article
- Effect of health education based on the Transtheoretical Model on pregnant women's knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward painless delivery: a quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- A Critical Review of Post-Childbirth Pain Experiences and Management in Relation to Postpartum Depression Risk for Racial and Ethnic Minorities.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Psychophysical correlates of labor pain intensity and unpleasantness.Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Relationships Between Perinatal Physical Activity and Pain During Labor and Postpartum.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Prenatal Planning and Breastfeeding: Buffering Postpartum Depression Through Positive Affect.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Association of remifentanil analgesia with postpartum depression and birth experience: an observational study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Observational
- The role of anesthesiologists in postpartum depression: current perspectives and future directions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Parenting stress after perineal tear during childbirth: the role of physical health and depressive symptoms.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Obstetric risk factors contributing to postpartum depression in the Northern Region of Ghana.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Labor Epidural Anesthesia and Postpartum Depression Risk: Prospective Observation Study and Mendelian Randomization Analysis.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Observational
- Postpartum continuous epidural analgesia on pain, sleep quality, and emotional state in childbearing women: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Effect of labor analgesia using programmed intermittent epidural boluses on postpartum depression symptoms: A randomized controlled trial.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundData linking labor pain and postpartum depression are emerging. Robust, prospective evaluations of this relationship while factoring other important variables are lacking. We assessed perinatal pain and other factors predicting postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms.
methodsThird trimester women, stratified by a priori plan to receive or avoid labor epidural analgesia, were longitudinally followed from the prenatal period through labor and delivery, until 6 weeks and 3 months postpartum. Electronic pain data was collected hourly during labor in real time, capturing pain unpleasantness, intensity, pain management satisfaction, and expectations. Prenatal and postpartum data included anxiety, depression, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), pain catastrophizing, resiliency, and perceived social support and stress. The primary outcome was Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS) as a marker of PPD symptoms. The primary pain variable of interest was labor pain emotional valence (unpleasantness burden, area under the curve for entire labor duration). Single and multivariable linear regressions examined perinatal pain variables in relation to EPDS.
resultsOf 72 subjects included, 55 planned/received labor epidural analgesia and 17 planned avoidance/avoided it. In the planned epidural group, the emotional valence of labor pain independently predicted six-week EPDS (labor pain unpleasantness burden, R
conclusionFor susceptible women, pain at all perinatal time points-prenatal, labor, and postpartum-appear to be independently linked to depression scores at 6 weeks postpartum. The relationships are true, even though satisfaction and expectations regarding labor pain management were met or exceeded. These data support the concept that labor and acute postpartum pain influences both acute and long-term PPD symptoms, although additional data are needed to assess how analgesia preference interacts with these relationships.
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