A new study has found that epidurals are associated with an even longer duration in the second stage of labor than is generally recognized, suggesting that some women may be subject to unnecessary interventions by doctors who wrongly fear labor has become prolonged. Robert L. Barbieri, chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Jeffrey Ecker, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, are quoted.
