Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

7 questions · 8 findings · 5 reviews · Pregnancy and Childbirth

No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 3 · 37.5%Very low 1 · 12.5%Low 1 · 12.5%Moderate 1 · 12.5%High 2 · 25%

Caesarean section · women in labour

Epidural showed no clear difference in caesarean section compared with opioids (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Epidural versus non‐epidural or no analgesia for pain management in labour 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.07 [0.96, 1.18]
33 studies · 10350 participants
Moderate

Caesarean section · pregnant women (at term) requesting epidural analgesia in labour (regardless of whether the labour was spontaneous or induced)

Early initiation of epidural analgesia showed no clear difference in caesarean section compared with late initiation (high certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Early versus late initiation of epidural analgesia for labour 2014 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.02 [0.96, 1.08]
9 studies · 15499 participants
High

Epidural anaesthesia for pain relief excluding for caesarean section · women in established labour and their babies.

1 finding from 1 review

Intermittent auscultation (IA) of fetal heart rate in labour for fetal well‐being 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
0 studies · 0 participants
GRADE not reported

Epidural anaesthesia for pain relief excluding for caesarean section · women in established labour and their babies.

1 finding from 1 review

Intermittent auscultation (IA) of fetal heart rate in labour for fetal well‐being 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
0 studies · 0 participants
GRADE not reported

Epidural anaesthesia for pain relief excluding for caesarean section · women in established labour and their babies.

1 finding from 1 review

Intermittent auscultation (IA) of fetal heart rate in labour for fetal well‐being 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
0 studies · 0 participants
GRADE not reported

Caesarean section · women in the second stage of labour with epidural anaesthesia

Upright position leads to higher caesarean section compared with recumbent position (sensitivity analyses ‐ studies at low risk of… (high certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Maternal position in the second stage of labour for women with epidural anaesthesia 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.29 [1.05, 1.57]
3 studies · 3609 participants
High
Maternal position in the second stage of labour for women with epidural anaesthesia 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.94 [0.61, 1.46]
8 studies · 4316 participants
Very low

Caesarean section · women in the second stage of labour without epidural anaesthesia

Any upright showed no clear difference in mode of birth: caesarean section compared with supine position (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Position in the second stage of labour for women without epidural anaesthesia 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 1.22 [0.81, 1.81]
16 studies · 5439 participants
Low