Volume 36

Number 1 January 2024

Evaluating the Efficacy and Outcomes of Walking Epidural in Labor Analgesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47648/jmsr.2024.v3601.01

Shariful Islam Seraji1 , Shahin Rahman Chowdhury2 , Chhanda Majumder3 , Nazneen Ahmed4 , K.M. Muzibul Haque5

Abstract

Introduction: Labor pain is one of the deepest and most challenging sensations a person can endure, shapingboth the physical and emotional perspective of childbirth, often requiring effective management to ensure apositive childbirth experience. The goal of labor analgesia is to provide sufficient pain relief while minimizingadverse effects on the mother and fetus. Methods: This prospective observational comparative study wasconducted at Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, and Popular Medical CollegeHospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh; the study spanned 2.5 years from December 2022 to July 2024. Result: Theaverage pain score, measured on a scale from 0 to 10, indicates that patients in the walking epidural groupexperienced significantly less pain (2.5 ± 1.2) than those in the traditional epidural group (3.8 ± 1.5). Womenwho received the Walking Epidural (n=40) had a statistically significantly shorter average labor duration (8.5hours ± 2.0) compared to those who received the Traditional Epidural (9.8 hours ± 2.5), with a p-value of 0.03.90% of patients in the Walking Epidural group reported high satisfaction compared to 70% in the TraditionalEpidural group (p = 0.02). The NICU admission rate was 5% (2 out of 40) in the Walking Epidural group and10% (8 out of 40) in the Traditional Epidural group. The difference in the study was not statistically significant(p = 0.45). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that walking epidurals provide superior pain relief, enhancedmobility, shorter labor durations, higher maternal satisfaction, and favorable delivery outcomes compared totraditional epidurals.

Keywords: Walking epidural, Epidural analgesia, Traditional epidural, Labor pain, Pain relief.


  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology

    Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka

  2. Professor, Department of Gynecology& Obstetrics

    Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka

  3. Consultant, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics

    Popular Medical College Hospital, Dhaka

  4. Associate Professor, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics

    Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka

  5. Professor, Department of Anesthesia

    Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka

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Volume 36, Number 1 January 2024
Page: 3-10