Evaluation of Epidural Analgesia for Vaginal Delivery: A Retrospective Analysis of a State Hospital

Aim: Epidural analgesia is the most commonly preferred analgesia method for labour pain management. Our purpose is to examine the effects of epidural analgesia on the mother, fetus, and the labour process in this study. Material and Methods: The files of pregnant women undergoing epidural analgesia for labour between January and December 2017 were examined retrospectively. Demographic data, hemodynamic parameters, duration of labour stages, rates of conversion to caesarean section, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores before and after epidural, APGAR score, maternal and fetal side effects, and satisfaction of pregnant women were evaluated. Results: It was seen that VAS scores were 2-3 with our painless labor analgesia protocol, caesarean rate was 2% among 153 labourers, the hypotension rate was 3.9% as a material side effect, the pregnancy satisfaction rate and the rate of requesting another epidural were 85.6%, and the 1st- and 5th-minute APGAR scores were 9-10 without any adverse effects. Conclusion: Epidural analgesia is a method that should be applied with a multi-disciplinary approach by experienced practitioners and obstetricians. This method dramatically reduces both the pain and stress of the mother and increases labour comfort, and we recommend it to all eligible pregnant women for a painless vaginal delivery.