Abstract:

Objective: Epidural anaesthesia (EA) is the most efficient method of pain reduction and its total elimination during delivery. The aim of this study was to establish an influence of EA on the first and the second part of delivery process and the effect of EA on the newborn and mother. Method : A total of 153 primiparas in our hospital were selected and divided into two groups according to whether they accepted epidural labor analgesia, including 90 cases in the study group and 63 cases in the control group. Both groups had vaginal delivery. As anaesthetic, Bupivacain (0,25% or 0, 125%) +2µg/ml fentanyl was used by the 18 G catheters. Level of application was L2-L3 part of spine. Dilatation and efesman level, duration of the first, second and third stages of labor, the abnormal situation and complications of primiparas were evaluated. Result: As a result of the analysis the birth weight of the babies of the pregnant women in the the study group was significantly higher than the control group (p <0.05). The study group’s NRS score was lower than that of the control group at 30 min after analgesia (P<0.001). The Apgar scores of the babies in the study group was significantly higher than the control group (p <0.001). The mean time for stage I in the study group was 2.27 ± 1.26 hours and was significantly lower than the control group (p <0.001). The time from full dilatation to delivery (stage II) was found to be significantly longer in the study group than in the control group (p<0.001). In terms of complications, there was no significant difference in the amount of postpartum haemorrhage, dizziness and vomiting in the study group and control group. The incidence of urinary retention in the study group is higher than that in the control group (p <0,05). Conclusion: In this study, the application of epidural anaesthesia seems to shorten the duration of delivery, be safe, make the patient comfortable, and has no any adverse effects on newborns.