Hi All !!! I thought that I would send this little article to everyone on this subject. The article itself deals more with what happens to the baby but I think it is easy to see how the increased use of epidurals plays a part in the high number of yeast/thrush cases. *********************** >New Research on Epidurals If you're on the fence about choosing an epidural or not, consider the results of a new study published in Pediatric News: It found an epidural during labor may affect how many potentially painful tests your baby has to have. Because women who have epidurals are more likely to get fevers--a sign their babies may have infections--their doctors are apt to draw blood and even do a lumbar puncture to assess the newborns' health. The researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston studied the hospital records of 1,657 new mothers and found that in the epidural group, 14 percent contracted fevers that led to testing, compared to only 1 percent in the non-epidural group. However, the researchers caution that women who get epidurals are more likely to have had long labors (more than 12 hours) and been in pain already--both factors that can also produce a fever. American Baby, p. 6, 8/97< ************************** So, all of these women that develop fevers will get antibiotics. Their babies will recieve antibiotics as well. I know that most of the hospitals around here have very high epidural rates ( upper 90 % ). I am a midwife in a homebirth practice. I went over the births that I have attended in the last year and a half. The only cases of thrush/breast yeast I have seen were in clients who we transported to the hospital and who subsequently received antibiotics. Although knowing that a woman had an IV doesn't mean that she received antibiotics, there is a strong chance. If they have an epidural, they have increased their risks of fever and having a c-section - both of which lead to antibiotic use. Keli