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Drugs in Labor: Are They Really Necessary. . . or Even Safe? The use of epidurals is so common today that many perinatal professionals are calling the 1990s the age of the epidural epidemic. Believed by many in the medical profession to be safe and effective, the ....

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.... the use of epidural anesthesia in labor issues that are seldom discussed prenatally. Several factors make the use of epidurals potentially hazardous. The Physician’s Desk Reference cautions that local anesthetics – the type used in epidurals – rapidly cross the placenta. When used for epidural blocks, anesthesia can cause varying degrees of maternal, fetal, and neonatal toxicity which can result in the following side effects: hypotension, urinary retention, fecal and urinary incontinence, paralysis of lower extremities, loss of feeling in the limbs, headache, backache, septic meningitis, slowing of labor, increased need for ....