Study: Epidural Analgesia Has No Effect on Duration of Labor

Epidural analgesia has been found to have no effect on the duration of second-stage labor compared with placebo, according to a recent trial.

The double-blind, randomized trial, published by Obstetrics & Gynecology online this month, included 400 women, each of whom was pregnant with just one child and at full term. The women were separated into two groups of 200 each, and given either epidural analgesia or saline placebo. The researchers found that the duration of labor was similar between