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Review ArticleMedical ProgressFree Preview

Regional Anesthesia and Analgesia for Labor and Delivery

List of authors.
  • Holger K. Eltzschig, M.D.,
  • Ellice S. Lieberman, M.D., Dr.P.H.,
  • and William R. Camann, M.D.

The maternal and fetal effects of analgesia during labor and delivery are issues of concern to patients, anesthesiologists, and obstetrical caregivers. Roughly 60 percent of women in the United States choose epidural or combined spinal–epidural anesthesia during labor. This Medical Progress article reviews current considerations, risks, and benefits of regional analgesia and anesthesia during both vaginal and cesarean deliveries.

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Author Affiliations

From the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (H.K.E., W.R.C.) and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (E.S.L.), Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston; and the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Eberhard-Karls University, Tübingen, Germany (H.K.E.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Camann at the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA 02115, or at .

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