Cesarean Surgery May Lead to Long-Term Pain and Opioid Addiction

A study reporting on chronic opioid use after surgery, defined by study investigators as “having filled 10 or more prescriptions or more than 120 days’ supply of an opioid in the first year after surgery (excluding the first 90 days),” found that 1 in 1000 women having cesareans fit that definition. Every year, 1/3 of the 4 million U.S. women who have babies deliver by cesarean. That amounts to 1300 women per year either experiencing severe long-term pain or inadvertently becoming addicted to opioids in the aftermath of their surgery.