"In Canada the rate of epidural anesthesia use during labour and delivery sits at >50% and continues to climb. The rate ranges from 90-100% in some American hospitals. As breastfeeding rates also continue to increase, the lack of research of the effect of epidural medications on breastfeeding is striking. The majority of research that has been done looked either at maternal satisfaction, maternal and infant homeostasis or Apgar scores, not infant feeding behaviours. Given what we know about the importance of breastfeeding to lifelong health, it is important to understand the impact that birth interventions such as epidurals have on both initiation and duration of breastfeeding."
Epidurals and breastfeeding
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