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Anesthesiologists have long known that accidental puncture of the dural membrane during epidural administration causes severe postpartum headache. They believed, however, that once the woman [...]

A new study links epidurals for labor pain with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis in the child. Should you be worried? How believable is this finding? How concerned should you be? How [...]

“One of the most influential biases in the acquisition of evidence is choice of the question, and the best evidence in answer to the wrong question is useless.” Menticoglou & Hall 2002 Making [...]

Medpage Today reports on a study contradicting the rationale for delayed pushing, or “laboring down,” with an epidural. Analysis of the hospital records of 21,000 1st-time mothers concluded that [...]

EurekAlert reports on a trial finding that giving 1st-time mothers more time to push out their babies cuts the cesarean rate for prolonged second stage in half. The American College of [...]

According to a study soon to be published in Birth, epidural fentanyl and IV oxytocin have dose-dependent negative effects on instinctive newborn ability to suckle. Investigators blinded to [...]