The “low dose” epidurals present a change from the epidurals of years past, when women in labor were given a relatively large dose of an anesthetic that effectively blocked pain and movement below the waist. The “low dose” epidurals generally involve small amounts of bupivacaine combined with the opioid fentanyl. The combination is sometimes referred to as a “walking epidural” because the drugs allow the patient to continue moving her legs, though actual walking is not advised.
Research on the low-dose epidurals has concluded that they lengthen labor by around 20 percent and do not decrease the likelihood of having a C-section. The low-dose epidurals do not interfere with breast-feeding success, and the duration of the epidural does not increase the amount of medicine in the mother or baby’s bloodstream.
Read the L.A. Times report on epidurals.
Read more on anesthesia:
–ASA Expresses Support for FDA Research on Pediatric Anesthesia
–ASCA Endorses Legislation Empowering FDA to Help Prevent Drug Shortages
–Anesthesiologist-Turned-Governor Declines Government-Subsidized Health Insurance
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