Understanding the Postpartum Cesarean Pain Experience Among Individuals With Publicly Funded Insurance: A Qualitative Investigation.
Nevert Badreldin, Julia D DiTosto, Karolina Leziak and 2 others
PMID 37394901WHAT IT FOUND
Postpartum people after cesarean birth described pain that interfered with infant care, household tasks, and mood.
They wanted individualized counseling, non-drug comfort options, and honest opioid discussion without feeling judged.
Key findings
01Pain after cesarean birth was described as interfering with caring for the neonate, household and family responsibilities, and mood.
02Participants wanted multimodal pain management and described satisfaction with abdominal binders, heat, ice, rest, and movement.
03Opioid experiences were mixed: multiple participants said opioids were necessary and helped them sleep, while others reported side effects, stigma, addiction worries, and breastmilk concerns.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The findings come from 49 people with public insurance at one urban academic hospital, so they may not fit other settings or insurance groups. The study looked only at cesarean birth and excluded people with certain medical or opioid histories, so it says little about vaginal birth or higher-risk patients. It reports experiences and preferences, not measured pain relief or opioid use outcomes. Interviewers were not always racially and ethnically concordant with participants, which may have influenced what participants shared. Spanish interviews were translated for analysis, which may affect nuance.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest. The study was designed in partnership with a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded postpartum navigation trial.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the participants’ desire for non-drug pain methods as proof that these methods reduce pain or opioid use. This study reported experiences and themes, not tested outcomes.