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. 2024 May 22:385:e077190.
doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077190.

Epidural analgesia during labour and severe maternal morbidity: population based study

Rachel J Kearns  1   2 , Aizhan Kyzayeva  2 , Lucy O E Halliday  2 , Deborah A Lawlor  3   4 , Martin Shaw  2   5 , Scott M Nelson  2
Affiliations

Epidural analgesia during labour and severe maternal morbidity: population based study

Rachel J Kearns et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the effect of labour epidural on severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and to explore whether this effect might be greater in women with a medical indication for epidural analgesia during labour, or with preterm labour.

Design: Population based study.

Setting: All NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Participants: 567 216 women in labour at 24+0 to 42+6 weeks' gestation between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2019, delivering vaginally or through unplanned caesarean section.

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was SMM, defined as the presence of ≥1 of 21 conditions used by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as criteria for SMM, or a critical care admission, with either occurring at any point from date of delivery to 42 days post partum (described as SMM). Secondary outcomes included a composite of ≥1 of the 21 CDC conditions and critical care admission (SMM plus critical care admission), and respiratory morbidity.

Results: Of the 567 216 women, 125 024 (22.0%) had epidural analgesia during labour. SMM occurred in 2412 women (4.3 per 1000 births, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.1 to 4.4). Epidural analgesia was associated with a reduction in SMM (adjusted relative risk 0.65, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.85), SMM plus critical care admission (0.46, 0.29 to 0.73), and respiratory morbidity (0.42, 0.16 to 1.15), although the last of these was underpowered and had wide confidence intervals. Greater risk reductions in SMM were detected among women with a medical indication for epidural analgesia (0.50, 0.34 to 0.72) compared with those with no such indication (0.67, 0.43 to 1.03; P<0.001 for difference). More marked reductions in SMM were seen in women delivering preterm (0.53, 0.37 to 0.76) compared with those delivering at term or post term (1.09, 0.98 to 1.21; P<0.001 for difference). The observed reduced risk of SMM with epidural analgesia was increasingly noticeable as gestational age at birth decreased in the whole cohort, and in women with a medical indication for epidural analgesia.

Conclusion: Epidural analgesia during labour was associated with a 35% reduction in SMM, and showed a more pronounced effect in women with medical indications for epidural analgesia and with preterm births. Expanding access to epidural analgesia for all women during labour, and particularly for those at greatest risk, could improve maternal health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: support from NHS Research Scotland, the UK Medical Research Council, and British Heart Foundation; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. Outside of the submitted work, RJK is a board member and research lead for Regional Anaesthesia UK and sits on the research council of the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia Research Council. RJK has declared funding from NHS National Research Scotland (administered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde), Wellbeing of Women, and the Chief Scientist Office (for research unrelated to this work in the past three years). SMN has participated in advisory boards and received speakers or consultancy fees from Access Fertility, Beckman Coulter, Ferring, Finox, Merck, MSD, Roche Diagnostics, and The Fertility Partnership. SMN has declared funding from the Chief Scientist Office, Wellbeing of Women, and National Institute of and Care Health Research (NIHR), for research unrelated to this work in the past three years. All funds for these grants go to and are managed and audited by the University of Glasgow. DAL has declared funding from the NIHR, Diabetes UK, and US National Institute of Research, for research unrelated to this work in the past three years. All funds for these grants go to and are managed and audited by the University of Bristol. DAL is a member of the UK Biobank strategic oversight committee, chair of the scientific advisory board for the Bradford Health Research Institute public health ActEarly programme, and chair of the NIHR-British Heart Foundation partnership working group on maternal cardiovascular health. She does not receive any payment for these activities. The authors declare no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Time varying adjusted absolute risks for severe maternal morbidity (%) in relation to gestational age (in weeks) for whole cohort, women with a medical indication for epidural analgesia, and women with no medical indication for epidural analgesia. Shading represents 95% confidence intervals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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