Posting this from Francine Nichols, author of "Childbirth Education:
Practice, Research, and Theory".

<<I just received my press release packet for March from the American Academy
of Pediatrics with the information below. I thought that it may be of
interest to you.

"EPIDURALS MAY AFFECT NEWBORNS

Chicago - Women who receive epidurals to ease labor pains may be increasing
discomfort for their newborns, according to a study published in this
month's Pediatrics, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The
new study says that epidurals can cause fevers in mothers during childbirth,
which in turn, causes  doctors to test newborns for blood and tissue
infections (sepsis), and to treat the newborns with antibiotics.  The
study's authors come from Brigham and Women's Hospitals amd the Joint
Program in Neonatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston.  The authors looked
at 1,047 women who received epidural analgesia for pain relief during labor.
More than 14 percent of these women developed fevers during labor.  Of the
babies born to those 1,047 women, 34  percent needed an evaluation for
sepsis, as compared to less than 10 percent of babies born to mothers who
had no epidural.  Newborns whose mothers had received an epidural were four
times as likely to be treated with antibiotics because doctors were
concerned about the possibility of sepsis.  However, babies of women who
received an epidural were not more likely to actually have infections, which
was very rare in both groups.  The authors conclude that women and their
doctors should discuss the possible consequences of fever resulting from
epidural use when deciding what method of pain relief to use during labor.

Liberman, et al. (March 1997).  Epidurals, maternal fever, and neonatal
sepsis evaluation.  Pediatrics, 89 (3), 415-419.

Francine
*****************************************************************
Francine H. Nichols, RNC, PhD
MCH Consultants
Washington, DC
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