A prospective study was conducted comparing the incidences of post-delivery bladder catheterizations when a short-acting drug, 2% 2-chloroprocaine, and a long-acting drug, 0.5% bupivacaine, were used as the local anesthetic drugs for continuous caudal anesthesia. The 2 variables compared were the incidences of catheterizations and/or urinary tract infections. There was a greater incidence of postpartum urinary retention when bupivacaine was used as a local anesthetic drug for caudal anesthesia. The absence of any increased medical risk because of the necessity for catheterizations should encourage, rather than discourge, the use of bupivacaine when these problems were compared with the potential dangers of reinjections necessary when short-acting local anesthetic drugs were used.