An observational study to evaluate relation of intrapartum VAS scores with postpartum depression

The labor pain is probably the most severe pain that most women endure in their lifetime.Since pain relief in labor has always been surrounded by myths and controversies, providing effective and safe analgesia in labor have remained a perennial challenge. In the non-obstetric population, the association between chronic pain and depression has been well established.For most women, childbirth is one of the most painful and stressful events during their lives and can result in long-term maternal morbidity. The association between the intensity of childbirth pain and mood disorders, including post-traumatic stress and postpartum depression , in the immediate postpartum period has been proposed, but this association has not been well studied. Central neuraxial analgesia is the gold standard technique for pain relief in labour. Among these, epidural blockade comes close to being the ideal analgesic technique in labour. It provides continuous analgesia for an unpredictable period of time and to convert analgesia to anaesthesia if an operative intervention becomes necessary.After thorough search of literature , we could not find any study that could provide significant evidence that effective labour analgesia could result in decrease in incidence of postpartum depression , hence we would like to proceed with our study of finding relation between intrapartum VAS scores with postpartum depression.