The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Epidural analgesia compared with combined spinal-epidural analgesia during labor in nulliparous women.
Among nulliparous women, there appears to be an association between the use of epidural analgesia during labor and an increased risk of dystocia. We tested the hypothesis that combined spinal-epidural analgesia, which permits ambulation during labor, is associated with a lower incidence of dystocia than continuous lumbar epidural analgesia. ⋯ As compared with continuous lumbar epidural analgesia, the combination of spinal and epidural analgesia is not associated with an overall decrease in the incidence of cesarean delivery.