Does an epidural cause a cesarean? No.
This is settled, and the old advice was wrong.
Across 40 trials and more than 11,000 women there was no difference in cesarean rate between epidural and non-epidural pain relief (relative risk 1.07, not significant). Asking for one early does not change that either. The old warning that an epidural starts a cascade ending in surgery is not supported.
Where this comes from:
189. Anim-Somuah M, Smyth RMD, Cyna AM, Cuthbert A. Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia for pain management in labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;(5):CD000331.
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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.