Effects on the infant of obstetric regional analgesia.

We found no differences between the analgesia and control groups in the Apgar score, blood gases, acid-base status or lactate, nor in the neonatal neurology or psychomotor development at 18 months. On the other hand certain deviations in blood chemistry and some physiological variables were noted. These deviations in certain infants whose mothers had received nerve blockade during labour were most likely not caused by toxic effects of the anaesthetic drug but secondary to changes in the course of labour due to the nerve blockade. These effects have not been found to be associated with harmful longterm consequences to the infants of our study, but the findings illustrate how sensitive the foetus and the newborn infant are to altered environmental conditions. The observed effects must of course be confirmed by other investigations, and the mechanisms must be clarified in greater detail. Special attention should be paid to the increased incidence of hypo- and hyperglycemia. The fact that we did not observe any deviations in the psychomotor development at 18 months' does not, of course, mean that teses might not be found in a material with a different composition from ours.