Epidural Plus Fever in Mom May Raise Risks for Baby

Study found as mother's temperature rose, problems were more likely at birth

February 3, 2012 RSS Feed Print

What's also not reported is if the women received IV antibiotics to treat an infection, or acetaminophen to treat fever, and if that would have improved how the child did, Pressman said.

"You can't tell if the adverse outcome was related to the epidural or an underlying infection that was inadequately treated," she said. "But it does reinforce that fever in labor is marker for some sort of inflammatory processes, but whether that inflammatory process is related to an epidural or an underlying infectious process, this study doesn't tell us."

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Nemours has more on epidurals.