Epidurals reduce serious childbirth complications by 35 per cent, study finds

Women who have an epidural during labour face a lower risk of severe complications during childbirth, according to a study.

Making epidurals more widely available and providing more information to those who would benefit from one is important, researchers said.

The study and the University of Bristol involved 567,216 women who were in labour in Scottish NHS hospitals from 2007 and 2019, and went on to give birth vaginally or by an unplanned caesarean section.