Research warns about the negative effect of epidural analgesia on newborns

Research warns about the negative effect of epidural analgesia on newborns

Researchers from the University of Granada observed that babies born after epidural analgesia show a small decline in Apgar index values, a quick test applied to newborn babies in order to assess their general health.

They carried out this work by analysing a total population of 2609 children born between 2010 and 2013 at San Juan de la Cruz hospital in Úbeda, province of Jaén, Spain.

Their research, published in Midwifery magazine, indicates that resuscitation was significantly more frequent in babies born after epidural analgesia, early breast feeding onset was less frequent in them, and they needed to be admitted, to a greater extent, to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Babies born after epidural analgesia show a small decline in Apgar index values (a quick test applied to newborn babies in order to assess their general health), both one and five minutes after birth.

Moreover, resuscitation was significantly more frequent in babies born after epidural analgesia, early breast feeding onset was less frequent in them, and they needed to be admitted, to a greater extent, to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Those are some of the conclusions of an article published in Midwifery magazine by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), who carried out a retrospective investigation on the existing relation between the use of epidural analgesia and certain parameters assessed in newborns.

The researchers carried out their investigation by analysing a total population of 2609 children born between 2010 and 2013 at San Juan de la Cruz hospital in Úbeda, province of Jaén, Spain.

Reference: “Retrospective study of the association between epidural analgesia during labour and complications for the newborn” A. Herrera-Gómez, O. García-Martínez, J. Ramos-Torrecillas, E. De Luna-Bertos, C. Ruiz, F.M. Ocaña-Peinado. Midwifery, doi:10.1016/j.midw.2015.02.013. Volume 31, Issue 6, June 2015

Source: University of Granada

Staff Writer