Labor Pain Blog

Epidural Plus Fever in Mom May Raise Risks for Baby

Posted 3 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY. Feb. 3 – The babies of women who develop an epidural-related fever while in labor are at greater risk of having problems right at birth, including poor muscle tone, breathing difficulties, low Apgar scores and seizures, a new study suggests. The Apgar score is a test used to measure a child's skin color, pulse and overall vigor in the moments after birth. Prior research has found an association between epidurals – or anesthesia delivered into the epidural space around the spinal cord – and fevers in some moms during labor. This study, which involved more than 3,200 women delivering a full-term baby at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in 2000, found a similar association. Just over 19 percent of those who had an epidural developed a temperature of greater than 100.4 degrees F compared with just 2.4 percent of women who went without the painkiller. The higher a woman's ... Read more

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