Effect of Epidural Analgesia During Labor on Force of Maternal Push

• Status: Recruiting
• Trial end date: 2022-01-02
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: Female

Summary

There are multiple factors that determine progress of normal vaginal delivery. Frequency, duration and strength of uterine contractions are important for progress throughout labor, and abdominal wall muscle contractions contribute to progress during the final stage. Epidural analgesia helps to alleviate the pain associated with uterine contractions, this however this comes at the expense of prolonging labor by reducing the strength of abdominal wall muscle contractions.

The purpose of this prospective study is to quantify how much epidurals decrease the strength of abdominal wall contractions. Intraabdominal pressure will be used as surrogate to strength of abdominal wall contractions, and it will be measured via a foley catheter inserted into the urinary bladder as part of standard procedure for patients receiving labor epidurals. We will compare the change in intraabdominal pressure when patients perform forceful abdominal contractions (valsalva maneuvers) prior to and during epidural analgesia. This will lay the foundation for a future study in which we plan to compare the effects of different epidural analgesia types and concentrations on abdominal wall muscle contractions.

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Henry Ford Health System
• Treatments: Bupivacaine; Fentanyl

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult (18 years and older)

• Pregnant women in their third trimester

• Able to read and speak English

• Capacity to consent to participate

• Receiving a labor epidural catheter during their labor and delivery at HFH-Main

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe cardiac disease

• People who are unable/medically recommended not to perform valsalva maneuvers

• People who are not undergoing labor epidural analgesia