New mothers who received ketamine or esketamine during or right after a cesarean delivery had modestly lower depression screening scores in the first two weeks after birth, according to a meta-analysis of six randomized trials presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 annual meeting in San Diego. The American Society of Anesthesiologists released the findings Oct. 17.
The review included 1,832 women having elective C-sections. The researchers measured symptoms with a screening questionnaire, not clinical diagnoses, and tracked them only from day 3 to day 14 after surgery. The results are conference data and do not show that ketamine prevents postpartum depression.
