Association of Labor Neuraxial Analgesia With Maternal Blood Transfusion

(Anesthesiology 2023;139(6):734–745. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004743) Labor neuraxial analgesia is used in about 70% of births in the United States. It may help lower the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, which is the strongest indication for a mother requiring a blood transfusion during childbirth. This study analyzed the link between labor neuraxial analgesia with maternal blood transfusion using data from birth certificates from the Natality File of the National Vital Statistics System for vaginal (VD) and intrapartum cesarean (CD) deliveries between January 2015 to December 2018 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data were excluded if they had missing information in any of the following categories: labor neuraxial analgesia, maternal outcome, maternal ethnicity, or residence or hospital county and race. Other exclusion criteria were if the mother did not live in the United States or if a child was not birthed in a hospital.