Developing a birthing plan is something that expectant mothers work on the last month of their pregnancy. Decisions need to be made about where they are going to deliver their child and whether the birth will be natural or if drugs will be used to reduce the pain. A common pain medication used during child birth is an epidural. An epidural is an anesthesia delivered into the epidural space around the spinal cord and it numbs the pain of child birth.

Recently, a study was published that linked the use of an epidural during delivery with a greater risk to the baby at birth including poor muscle tone, breathing difficulties and low Apgar scores. Mother's should be informed of the study so that they can weigh the positives and negatives and avoid birthing injuries.

In the United States, more than 4 million women give birth every year and 60 percent of them receive epidurals, according to the study.

Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, was where this study was performed involving approximately 3,200 women delivering full-term babies during the year 2000. More than 87 percent of the women had epidurals during the study timeframe, which is higher than the national average.

What the study found is that mother's who develop an epidural-related fever while in labor, could experience problems with their babies. The higher the temperature, the more likely the baby would experience problems. For women who didn't develop a fever, the study found no difference in the outcomes for the babies from women who had an epidural versus those who didn't.

Researchers did take into account other factors that could affect the baby's health at birth including whether the mother had gestational diabetes, age of the mother, how long she was in labor or if the mother had a known infection. According to the researchers, the data shows that approximately 20 percent of the full-term infants born to mothers, who received an epidural, experienced one more adverse outcomes after birth. Also, women who were numb for more than six hours were more likely to develop a fever.

While mothers shouldn't panic if an epidural is part of their birthing plan, they should consider their options before making a decision. One possibility to avoid the epidural-related fever is to delay getting the epidural for as long as you can to reduce your risk.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, "Epidural Plus Fever in Mom May Raise Risks for Baby," Jenifer Goodwin, Feb. 3, 2012