Maternal analgesia in labor can affect the infant's ability to breastfeed and may delay effective breastfeeding for several hours, according to a study of forty-eight mothers and infants. Infants whose mothers received either no labor analgesia or analgesia less than an hour before delivery and who initiated breastfeeding early, established effective breastfeeding significantly earlier than infants whose mothers received labor analgesia an hour or more before delivery and who experienced a delay in the initiation of breastfeeding. As primiparous women tend to experience longer labor and be exposed to more labor analgesia, they may be less likely to initiate breastfeeding during the first hour.
-Breastfeeding Review, November 1995
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 9, Feb. 26, 1999)
To subscribe to the E-News write: enews@midwiferytoday.com
For all other matters contact Midwifery Today:
PO Box 2672-940, Eugene OR 97402
541-344-7438, midwifery@aol.com, Midwifery Today
|
|