Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

The Effect of Epidural Labour Analgesia on Neonatal Outcomes: A Prospective Randomised Study

Sylvanus Kampo, Thomas W. Anabah, Thomas Bavo Azongo, Bright E. Anyizah, Peter Paul Bamaalabong, David Z. Kolbila, Juventus B. Ziem

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 1–8 · Published 31 Mar 2016

10.9734/BJMMR/2016/24182

Abstract

Introduction: Epidural analgesia is said to have depressive effects on neonates. There seems to be sufficient instances in the literature that have compared maternal outcomes in relation to epidural analgesia. However, there is lack of instances in the literature on neonatal outcomes occurring with respect to epidural labour analgesia. This study therefore aims at unravelling neonatal outcomes following epidural labour analgesia. Methods: This randomised controlled trial study compared the outcomes of babies of mothers who received epidural labour analgesia with those who did not receive any form of labour analgesia. One hundred and two (102) parturient women were recruited into the study and 51 of them assigned to the epidural group and the other 51 were assigned to the control group. Measures were taken with respect to: APGAR scores at first, fifth and tenth minutes; level of neonatal resuscitation; temperature; and neonatal complications. Results: It was reveal that there was no statistical difference in the APGAR scores at first, fifth and tenth minutes (P = 0.55, P = 0.33, P = 0.58, respectively). The mean temperatures were 36.13°C for the control group and 35.61°C for epidural group (P = 0.40), indicating no statistical significance between the two groups. Conclusion: Complications noted in epidural group were not statistically different from those in the control group and therefore with proper monitoring, epidural labour analgesia is safe for the foetus and the neonate.

Epidural labour analgesia pain parturient women.

References (12)

  1. 1 Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia in labour [DOI]
  2. 2 Labour analgesia and obstetric outcomes [DOI]
  3. 3 Effects of epidural analgesia on labor length, instrumental delivery, and neonatal short-term outcome [DOI]
  4. 4 Analgesia in labour and fetal acid–base balance: a meta‐analysis comparing epidural with systemic opioid analgesia [DOI]
  5. 5 Epidural Analgesia During Labor: Impact on Delivery Outcome, Neonatal Well-Being, and Early Breastfeeding [DOI]
  6. 6 Effects on mother and fetus of epidural and combined spinal-epidural techniques for labor analgesia [DOI]
  7. 7 Epidural Opioid Analgesia and Neonatal Respiratory Depression [DOI]
  8. 8 Does epidural increase the incidence of cesarean delivery or instrumental labor in Saudi populations?
  9. 9 Effect of epidural analgesia on labor and delivery: a retrospective study [DOI]
  10. 10 Effects of maternal epidural analgesia on the neonate - a prospective cohort study [DOI]
  11. 11 [Epidural analgesia during labour: maternal, fetal and neonatal aspects].
  12. 12 Epidural versus non-epidural analgesia for pain relief in labour [DOI]

Cited by 3

Epidural use in labour is not associated with an increased risk of maternal or neonatal morbidity when the second stage is prolonged

Jessica Turner, Christopher Flatley, Sailesh Kumar · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology · 2019

Showing 1 of 3 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

49

Page views

0

PDF downloads

6

Outbound clicks

3

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.