- It was already known that the second stage of labour can take longer after an epidural - but new research suggests it extends it even further
- Without an epidural, most first time mothers deliver within 3 hours 20 mins
- With an epidural, it can take up to 5 hours 40 minutes, say researchers
- In the UK, this stage of labour is not allowed continue for more than three hours - so doctors start to consider intervening after two hours
It is known that having an epidural increases the time it takes for a woman to deliver her baby.
But new research suggests it may prolong the birth for longer than originally believed.
U.S. researchers found some women who are given an epidural during labour take more than two hours longer to deliver their child than women who don’t get the pain relief.
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Having an epidural can increase the amount of time it takes a woman to push out her baby by up to two hours
‘The effect of epidural can be longer than we think and as long as the baby looks good and the women are making progress, we don't necessarily have to intervene [and perform a Caesarean section] based on the passage of time,’ lead author Dr Yvonne Cheng, from the University of California, San Francisco, said. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2553880/Epidurals-make-labour-two-hours-LONGER-without-pain-relief.html
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