Association of multimodal analgesic protocol with postpartum depression incidence and sleep quality in high-risk parturients.
Frontiers in medicine January 1, 2026 Hui Zhang, Yan An Jiang, Huajun Fu et al.
Postpartum depression affects 10-20% of women after childbirth, with rates up to 30-50% in high-risk groups. A multimodal analgesic protocol combining dexmedetomidine and esketamine, given during and after cesarean delivery, was associated with a lower incidence of postpartum depression at six weeks (14.6% vs. 29.1% in controls), better sleep quality, and reduced opioid use in 82 high-risk parturients. The intervention group showed a greater decrease in depression scores and improved sleep scores. Transient psychotomimetic effects occurred in 8.5% of patients. These findings suggest the protocol may reduce postpartum depression risk, though randomized trials are needed to confirm causality.