PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Timing of epidural is up to the mother

2014-10-09
(Press-News.org) When a woman is in labour, the appropriate time to give an epidural during childbirth is when she asks for it, a new study suggests. Published in The Cochrane Library, the systematic review compared early and late epidurals during labour and found that they had very similar effects.

An epidural is a pain relieving local anaesthetic that is given as an injection into the spine. It is commonly offered to women in labour who request pain relief and is effective in reducing pain. However, previous studies have suggested that the timing of an epidural can prolong the duration of labour as well as increase the chances of needing a Caesarean section. With this in mind, Cochrane researchers collected the best available evidence on early and late epidurals and compared their effects.

"The right time to give the epidural is when the woman requests pain relief," said lead researcher Dr Ban Leong Sng, who is also the Deputy Head and Senior Consultant of the Department of Women's Anaesthesia, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), Singapore. "If they request an epidural early during their labour, the evidence we have does not provide a compelling reason why this should be refused."

The Cochrane researchers reviewed data from nine studies involving 15,752 first-time mothers who were randomly assigned to "early" or "late" groups. During labour, those in the early group were given epidurals when they were less than four to five centimetres dilated, while those in the late group waited until they were four to five centimetres or more dilated. When the results were analysed, those who had early epidurals were no more or less likely to need a Caesarean section than those who had late epidurals. Earlier epidurals made no difference to the likelihood of needing an assisted birth involving forceps or suction, or to the amount of time spent in the second, 'pushing' stage of labour. For other aspects that were measured, early and late epidural also had similar effects.

Although the researchers found no effect of early epidural on the length of time spent in the pushing stage, they were unable to reach firm conclusions about effects on the time to reach full cervical dilation. "We can't rule out the possibility that starting epidural pain relief earlier may lead to shorter labour," said Sng. "This is because there was a lot of variation in the results of the studies we looked at in terms of the length of the first stage of labour."

INFORMATION:

This review is jointly carried out in collaboration with researchers from KKH, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore Clinical Research Institute and a medical student from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore.

Cochrane is an independent, trusted producer of research into the effects of healthcare treatments and interventions. Health practitioners and patients can make better decisions using accessible, high quality evidence.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Women who eat fried food regularly before conceiving are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy

2014-10-09
New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that women who eat fried food regularly before conceiving are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy. The research is led by Drs Cuilin Zhang and Wei Bao, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, part of the US National Institutes of Health) Rockville, MD, USA, and colleagues. Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a complication that can arise during pregnancy, and is characterised by abnormally ...

Online intervention tool for physician trainees may improve care of substance users

2014-10-09
Online learning interventions and small group debriefings can improve medical residents' attitudes and communication skills toward patients with substance use disorders, and may result in improved care for these patients, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University College of Medicine published online in Academic Medicine. The study used a novel internet-based learning module designed to improve the communication skills of primary care physicians during screenings and brief counseling sessions with ...

New gene therapy for 'bubble boy' disease appears effective, safe, study in NEJM reports

New gene therapy for bubble boy disease appears effective, safe, study in NEJM reports
2014-10-09
BOSTON (October 9, 2014) –A new form of gene therapy for boys with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID-X1), a life-threatening condition also known as "bubble boy" disease, appears to be both effective and safe, according to a collaborative research team from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and other institutions conducting an international clinical trial. Early data suggest that the therapy may avoid the late-developing leukemia seen in a quarter of SCID-X1 patients in pioneering gene therapy trials in Europe more ...

Novel protein in heart muscle linked to cardiac short-circuiting and sudden cardiac deaths

2014-10-09
NEW YORK, NY – Cardiovascular scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified in mouse models a protein known as Pcp4 as a regulator of the heart's rhythm. Additionally, when the Pcp4 gene is disrupted, it can cause ventricular arrhythmias. Results from this animal study were released online Oct. 8 in the peer-reviewed publication, The Journal of Clinical Investigation. "This study demonstrates that Purkinje cell protein-4 (Pcp4) is not only important in maintaining the heart's normal rhythmic behavior, but that when Pcp4 expression is reduced, it short-circuits ...

Patient's dramatic response and resistance to cancer drug traced to unsuspected mutations

Patients dramatic response and resistance to cancer drug traced to unsuspected mutations
2014-10-09
BOSTON – The DNA of a woman whose lethal thyroid cancer unexpectedly "melted away" for 18 months has revealed new mechanisms of cancer response and resistance to the drug everolimus, said researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The investigators discovered two previously unknown mutations in the cancer's DNA. One made the woman's cancer extraordinarily sensitive to everolimus, accounting for the remarkably long-lasting response. The second mutation was found in the DNA of her tumor after it had evolved resistance ...

Gene therapy shows promise for severe combined immunodeficiency

2014-10-09
WHAT: Researchers have found that gene therapy using a modified delivery system, or vector, can restore the immune systems of children with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), a rare, life-threatening inherited condition that primarily affects boys. Previous efforts to treat SCID-X1 with gene therapy were initially successful, but approximately one-quarter of the children developed leukemia two to five years after treatment. Results from a study partially funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National ...

Skin exposure may contribute to early risk for food allergies

2014-10-09
(NEW YORK – October 08, 2014) Many children may become allergic to peanuts before they first eat them, and skin exposure may be contribute to early sensitization, according to a study in mice led by Mount Sinai researchers and published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Early in the process of developing an allergy, skin exposure to food allergens contributes to "sensitization", which means the skin is reactive to an antigen, such as peanuts, especially by repeated exposure. The question of how peanut allergies start is an important one, given the ...

Designing rivers: environmental flows for ecosystem services in rivers natural and novel

2014-10-09
Last spring, the Colorado River reached its delta for the first time in 16 years, flowing into Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of California after wetting 70 miles of long-dry channels through the Sonoran Desert. The planned 8-week burst of water from Mexico's Morelos Dam on the Arizona-Mexico border was the culmination of years of diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Mexico and campaigning from scientists and conservation organizations. Now ecologists wait to see how the short drink of water will affect the parched landscape. This year's spring pulse held ...

More appropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging could reduce health costs

2014-10-09
New York City – October 8, 2014 – In a new study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center concluded that overuse of cardiac stress testing with imaging has led to rising healthcare costs and unnecessary radiation exposure to patients. In what is believed to be the first comprehensive examination of trends in cardiac stress testing utilizing imaging, researchers also showed that there are no significant racial or ethnic health disparities in its use. They also made national estimates of the cost of ...

Healthy lifestyle may cut stroke risk in half for women

2014-10-08
MINNEAPOLIS – Women with a healthy diet and lifestyle may be less likely to have a stroke by more than half, according to a study published in the October 8, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at five factors that make up a healthy lifestyle: healthy diet; moderate alcohol consumption; never smoking; physically active; and healthy body mass index (BMI). Compared with women with none of the five healthy factors, women with all five factors had a 54-percent lower risk of stroke. "Because ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Timing of epidural is up to the mother