Epidurals are the most common type of anesthesia used during labor and delivery. They combine a local anesthetic with narcotics or opiates and are administered into the epidural space of your spinal cord. More than half of all pregnant women choose this option to help them manage pain during labor, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Consequently, newborns are vulnerable to lidocaine, bupivacaine or chloroprocaine, which are typically used as anesthetics. Newborns may also experience the narcotic effects of fentanyl and sufentanil that might be used to temper the dosage of the anesthetics.
Oxygen and Blood Supply
The drug combinations used in an epidural have the potential of making your blood pressure drop without warning during labor. One in eight mothers will experience this side effect, according to the website Maternity Acupressure. Your low blood pressure may affect your newborn's oxygen and blood supply. The problem may be addressed with oxygen and medications administered to you intravenously, but stress is put on your baby.
Irregular Heart Rate
Drugs administered via epidural eventually make their way into your blood and will cross the placenta into your baby's circulation. Some newborns suffer irregular heart rates post-delivery when this happens, according to the American Pregnancy Association. In some cases, heartbeats decrease. In others cases, fetal tachycardia -- an overly fast heartbeat -- may result.
Assisted Delivery
An epidural works by blocking sensation and nerve impulses in the lower half of your body while allowing you to remain alert and take an active role in your baby's delivery. This means you will have decreased control over your pelvic area, and the muscles that help position your baby for delivery may not be able to react as they should. Epidural drugs may also hamper your efforts to push during the second stage of labor. Your baby's normal movements and activity may also become sluggish under the effects of narcotics, making it difficult for him to move into proper position. Maternity Acupressure reports that in one out of three deliveries when epidurals are used, the physician must intervene with forceps or vacuum extraction. In some cases, you may be administered an additional drug -- Pitocin -- to maintain the intensity of your contractions.
Difficulty Nursing
Babies who are exposed to narcotics and anesthetics during delivery may have a difficult time nursing immediately after birth. In an article for the website ChildbirthSolutions, Penny Simkin, author of "The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth," reports that nurses have noticed a decreased ability in these babies to root and suckle.
Behavior
Drug levels in the blood of babies delivered after an epidural can be as high as that of their mothers, according to Maternity Acupressure. But their immature livers are not able to process them as easily. It can take several days for these drugs to leave your newborn's system, and your baby may exhibit behavioral reactions to them for weeks. Though no long-term studies have been done, Simkin suggests that irritability and an inability to track objects and to shut out excessive noise and lights might result.
