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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)
14:56

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)

Published on: January 27, 2010

Postpartum headache

A M Klein1, E Loder

  • 1Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. aklein1@partners.org

International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia
|September 14, 2010
PubMed

Headache is a common puerperal complaint. A wide variety of factors can be involved, ranging from hormonal shifts, physiological changes, and peripartum procedures that may precipitate, worsen, or cause troublesome headache. The differential diagnosis of postpartum headache is broad and potentially daunting to the various clinicians caring for the postpartum patient. It often requires further neurological consultation or imaging to resolve. This review will focus on the main causes of postpartum headache, their incidence, and clinical presentation. Causes of postpartum headache that will be covered include benign primary headache disorders such as migraine and tension type headache as well as secondary headache disorders such as postdural puncture headache, stroke, and venous sinus thrombosis. A structured approach to headache evaluation in the postpartum patient will be presented to help differentiate the possible causes of headache.

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