WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for February, 1998: Re: epidurals and health of newborns

Re: epidurals and health of newborns

From: Harvey S. Marchbein, M.D. (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 26 Feb 1998 21:55:44 -0600 (CST)

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Reply: Amy: "Re: epidurals and health of newborns"

At Thu, 26 Feb 1998, Amy wrote: >
>Have any
>>studies been done on possible connections between use of epidurals and
>>newborn health? If so, where might I find documentation.
>>Shari Harris
>>
>Shari,
>
>Here's one I found on Medline:
>
>Dev Med Child Neurol 1992 Dec;34(12):1072-1080
>
>The effects of maternal epidural anesthesia on neonatal behavior during
>the first month.
>
>Sepkoski CM, Lester BM, Ostheimer GW, Brazelton TB
>
>Cry Research, Inc., Boston University School of Medicine, Cambridge
>02141.
>
>The effects of maternal epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine on the
>infant's performance on the Neonatal Behavioral
>Assessment Scale (NBAS) over the first month of life were examined. 20
>non-medicated infants were matched for
>biomedical and demographic variables with 20 infants delivered with
>bupivacaine epidural anesthesia. The NBAS was
>administered on days 1, 3, 7 and 28. The epidural group showed poorer
>performance on the orientation and motor clusters during the first month
>of life. Epidural mothers reported spending less time with their
>infants while in the hospital; post hoc analyses showed that they had
>longer labor, more forceps deliveries and a greater amount of oxytocin.

Are these cause or effect?

>Controlling for the effects of these medical variables, a dose effect
>was found for the mean orientation and motor cluster scores. The
>results are discussed in terms of possible effects of the infant's early
>disorganization on the mother-infant interaction.

Again, is this cause or effect? Are people who are more likely to have an epidural more likely to have these other "problems" or visa versa?

--
Harvey S. Marchbein, M.D. FACOG
OBGYN.net U.S. Representative, New York
Great Neck, New York
http://www.obgyn.net/states/bios/marchbein.htm
http://www.obgyn.net/women/advisors/harveym.htm

**Note:  Opinions expressed here are for educational purposes only
and, as such, do not constitute a physician-patient relationship.
This information is not intended to supplant the need for you to
consult with your physician prior to choosing therapeutic options
and/or interventions.

**Private emails cannot be entertained due to time constraints,
consequently no private emails will receive a response.

**Thank you for your understanding ;-)

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