Epidurals during labor not only reduce patients' pain but may also lower the overall risk of severe complications during childbirth and in weeks just afterward, a recent study finds.
The study, published May 22 in the journal The BMJ, analyzed data collected by the Scottish National Health Service over a 13-year period and stored in six huge databases. Of the more than half a million women included in the study, more than 125,000 had epidurals during labor. In the overall group, more than 2,400 experienced severe complications, including respiratory distress, aneurysm, heart failure and eclampsia, during or in the weeks after delivery.
"We also found that these effects were more pronounced in women who were already at higher underlying risk of these complications, such as those with preterm birth," said study lead author Dr. Rachel Kearns, a consultant anesthetist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow."We really hope this information will help women make decisions when they're considering what pain relief to have during labor.
Notably, only about 20% of Scottish women included in the study chose epidurals, said Dr. Ruth Landau, director of obstetric anesthesia at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who was not involved in the new research. Those who were at higher risk of complications were only slightly more likely to receive an epidural than low-risk mothers were, she told Live Science via email.