Labour epidural analgesia and early childhood behavioural outcomes: the moderating role of maternal mental health and pro‐inflammatory cytokines
Authors' conclusion
Use of epidural analgesia during labour was not found to be independently associated with adverse child behavioural outcomes.
Study context
- Population
- Singleton vaginal births from the Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition study (U-BIRTH follow-up cohort)
- Participants
- 1,962 mother-child dyads
- Exposure
- Labour epidural analgesia vs no labour epidural analgesia
- Epiduraln = 726
- Outcome
- Child Behavioural Checklist scores (higher = more behavioural difficulties)
- Follow-up
- 18 months, 6 years and 11 years postpartum
Methodological detailsfollow-up cohort
- Follow-up cohort
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Child Behavioural Checklist scores · 18 months postpartum
- Crude analysis: labour epidural analgesia correlated with higher scores
- Association not significant after adjusting for confounders
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Child Behavioural Checklist scores by maternal cytokine expression (subgroup)
- Among those with lower TNFSF14 and CXCL6 expression, labour epidural analgesia associated with higher scores
Maternal factors and Child Behavioural Checklist scores · 18 months postpartum
- Younger maternal age, lower resilience, inflammatory diseases, primiparity, antenatal depression, fear of childbirth and longer labour associated with higher scores
Original publication
Labour epidural analgesia and early childhood behavioural outcomes: the moderating role of maternal mental health and pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Anaesthesia. Published 15 March 2026. doi:10.
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