Epidural article questioned. (Your Letters).(Letter to the Editor)

Publication: Mothering

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2001 Mothering Magazine

I was recently introduced to Mothering by one of my patients. I was particularly interested in "Epidural's Effects on Babies" by Beverley Lawrence Beech (March-April 2000). I truly appreciate a less invasive and more conservative approach toward labor and delivery. However, I have many questions regarding the author's presentation of research and data.

In the first paragraph, the author cites Olofsson et al. as concluding that "epidurals [are] the perfect solution for laboring women." Olofsson's study was designed to determine if systemic opiates provided adequate analgesic effects during labor and concluded, "it seems unethical and medically incorrect to meet ... requests for analgesia by giving ... heavy sedation [systemic narcotics]." Olofsson mentions the known fact that epidurals work but in no way "embrace[s] [them] as the perfect solution."

In the subsequent paragraph, the author cites Lieberman's research, which reports a correlation between spinal anesthesia and maternal fever,...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.