Obstetric analgesia in labor and its association with neonatal outcomes

ABSTRACT Objetives: To investigate the association between analgesia during labor and occurrence of neonatal outcomes. Methods: Retrospective cohort study with medical records of 850 parturient. The exposure variable of interest was receiving pharmacological analgesia during labor and neonatal outcomes were: one- and five-minute Apgar, resuscitation maneuvers and referral of the newborn to Neonatal ICU. A logistic regression was carried out to obtain Odds Ratios and 95% confidence interval, with adjustment for confounding factors. Results: Among the women studied, 35% received analgesia and this use was associated with a greater chance of neonatal outcomes such as one-minute Apgar < 7 (p <0.0001), resuscitation maneuvers (p <0.001) and referral to the Neonatal ICU (p = 0.004), mostly were among low-risk pregnant women, even after adjustments. Conclusions: The use of pharmacological analgesia during labor is associated with one-minute Apgar < 7, resuscitation maneuvers and referral to the Neonatal ICU.