Epidural Analgesia and Perinatal Retinal Haemorrhages

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The incidence and magnitude of retinal hemorrhages in a group of neonates delivered spontaneously (n = 50), whose mothers received epidural analgesia during labor, were compared to those of a spontaneously delivered control group (n = 50) who received conventional analgesia. The 2nd stage of labor was significantly longer in the epidural group (P < 0.001), which contained a higher number of primiparas than did the control group. A lower incidence of retinal hemorrhages was noted in the epidural group (P < 0.01). Epidural analgesia offers a certain degree of protection against perinatal retinal hemorrhages in the spontaneously delivered neonate.