Effects of epidural analgesia in infants born from low-risk pregnancies

Epidural analgesia (EA) is a widely diffused procedure but potential side-effects on newborns whose mothers were subjected to EA are to date still matter of debate. Our aim was to evaluate if infants born from a low-risk pregnancy with or without EA, performed at maternal request for pain relief, would have a similar short-term outcome.

We retrospectively studied infants with a gestational age of ≥37 weeks and birth weight appropriate for gestational age, born after low-risk pregnancy with (n = 100) or without (n = 100) EA. The primary endpoint was to evaluate possible differences of Apgar score at 5 min between the groups. Secondary endpoints were the need for resuscitation in the delivery room and admission to the neonatal care units.

The median Apgar score at 5 min was similar between the groups [10 (9-10) vs. 10 (9-10; P = 0.151) and no infants had a value <8. None of studied infants required resuscitation in the delivery room. The admission rate in neonatal care units had similar occurrence in the groups (9 vs. 10 %; P = 0.809).

EA performed in low-risk birthing women for their pain relief requirement did not affect the short-term outcome of infants. These results may help open the discussion on the possibility of developing new care strategies that eventually extend the possibility of access to EA also to women who choose to give birth in alongside midwifery unit.