Epidural Analgesia in Labor Appears to Be Safe for Newborns

THURSDAY, July 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Epidural analgesia during labor is not associated with clinically significant risks of harm to newborn babies or children, according to a study published online July 15 in The BMJ.

Rachel J. Kearns, M.D., from Glasgow Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined whether epidural analgesia in labor is associated with poor neonatal outcomes, including mortality, sepsis, low Apgar score, and childhood cerebral palsy. The analysis included data from 495,695 women in labor with a singleton pregnancy between 24+0 and 42+6 weeks of gestation delivering vaginally or via unplanned cesarean birth from 2007 through 2019.

The researchers found that 23.2 percent of women had epidural analgesia in labor. Neonatal neurological morbidity occurred in 434 babies (0.9 per 1,000 births), but there was no association seen between epidural analgesia in labor and neonatal neurological morbidity (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 0.87; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.68 to 1.12), other severe neonatal morbidity (aRR, 1.17; 95 percent CI, 0.90 to 1.51), neonatal sepsis (aRR, 1.11; 95 percent CI, 0.90 to 1.37), Apgar score <4 at five minutes (aRR, 0.97; 95 percent CI, 0.87 to 1.09), neonatal mortality at 28 days (aRR, 0.81; 95 percent CI, 0.62 to 1.06), or cerebral palsy in childhood (aRR, 0.80; 95 percent CI, 0.60 to 1.06). Results were similar across subgroups that included women with high-risk pregnancies, preterm births, and different modes of birth.

“These results should reassure parents and clinicians that epidural analgesia use in labor is safe for babies and support informed, evidence-based decision-making about analgesic options in labor,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Abstract/Full Text