Epidural block in twin labour and delivery

In a clinical study, 28 twin mothers were provided with epidural block during labour and delivery. This group was compared to 24 twin mothers who received conventional analgesics throughout labour. General anaesthesia was administered when operative delivery was indicated in the control group. In the epidural group, duration of labour was significantly prolonged. A delayed second stage of labour caused an increased number of operative vaginal deliveries. Intra-uterine asphyxia was not more frequent in the epidural group. Judged by the Apgar score and the neonatal course, there was no difference between the newborn in the two groups. Neither clinical evaluation, nor acid-base investigations showed any difference between the condition of Twin I and Twin II in the epidural group.