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. 2014 May;30(2):167-73.
doi: 10.1177/0890334413520189. Epub 2014 Jan 22.

Relationship between use of labor pain medications and delayed onset of lactation

Jennifer N Lind  1 , Cria G Perrine, Ruowei Li
Affiliations

Relationship between use of labor pain medications and delayed onset of lactation

Jennifer N Lind et al. J Hum Lact. 2014 May.

Abstract

Background: Despite estimates that 83% of mothers in the United States receive labor pain medications, little research has been done on how use of these medications affect onset of lactation.

Objective: To investigate whether use of labor pain medications is associated with delayed onset of lactation (DOL).

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2005-2007 Infant Feeding Practices Study II, a longitudinal study of women from late pregnancy through the entire first year after birth (n = 2366). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, we assessed the relationship between mothers' use of labor pain medication/method and DOL (milk coming in > 3 days after delivery).

Results: Overall, 23.4% of women in our sample experienced DOL. Compared with women who delivered vaginally and received no labor pain medication, women who received labor pain medications had a higher odds of experiencing DOL: vaginal with spinal/epidural only (aOR 2.05; 95% CI, 1.43-2.95), vaginal with spinal/epidural plus another medication (aOR 1.79; 95% CI, 1.16-2.76), vaginal with other labor pain medications only ([not spinal/epidural]; aOR 1.84; 95% CI, 1.14-2.98), planned cesarean section with spinal/epidural only (aOR 2.13; 95% CI, 1.39-3.27), planned cesarean with spinal/epidural plus another medication (aOR 2.67; 95% CI, 1.35-5.29), emergency cesarean with spinal/epidural only (aOR 2.17; 95% CI, 1.34-3.51), and emergency cesarean with spinal/epidural plus another medication (aOR 3.03; 95% CI, 1.77-5.18).

Conclusion: Mothers who received labor pain medications were more likely to report DOL, regardless of delivery method. This information could help inform clinical decisions regarding labor/delivery.

Keywords: breastfeeding; labor and delivery; lactation; medication; risk factors.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Prevalence of Reported Onset of Lactation Postpartum by Labor Pain Medication Category/Method of Delivery. Abbreviations: Other, other labor pain medications only; meds, labor pain medications; S/E, spinal/epidural.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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