- Women in more affluent areas were 19 percent more likely to receive an epidural
Wealthy women are much more likely to receive an epidural during childbirth, a study reveals.
Researchers say women from poorer backgrounds may feel more pressure to tolerate the pain of childbirth or face discrimination.
They examined the care provided to 593,230 women who gave birth between January 2007 and October 2020, excluding scheduled cesarean sections. Of those, 131,521 (22.2%) received an epidural to relieve pain.
However, the analysis found that women in more affluent areas were 19 percent more likely to receive an epidural than those in more disadvantaged locations.
When there was a clear and documented indication that the epidural was medically necessary, the difference was even greater.
Researchers examined the care provided to 593,230 women who gave birth between January 2007 and October 2020, excluding planned cesarean sections. Of them, 131,521 (22.2 percent) received an epidural to relieve pain (File image)
In such cases, women in the richest 10 percent of areas were 27 percent more likely to receive pain relief compared to those in the poorest 10 percent.
The study, which used data from women who gave birth in the NHS in Scotland, was published in Anesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anesthetists. The researchers, led by Dr Lucy Halliday from the University of Glasgow, said: ‘These women (in poorer groups) may lack knowledge about the indications for epidural analgesia; have life circumstances that may negatively affect prenatal care attendance; distrust of medical staff; feeling helpless during childbirth; having misconceptions about epidural safety; or have different expectations and social pressures regarding the pain of childbirth.
“Differences in the attitudes of healthcare professionals…could also influence the use of epidurals during childbirth.”
The authors added: “We found that women from areas of greater socioeconomic disadvantage were substantially less likely to receive an epidural for pain relief.”
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins last month announced £50m funding for research to tackle maternal disparities.
She said improving maternity services was “personal” for her after her own “scary” experience of childbirth.
Women in more affluent areas were 19 percent more likely to receive an epidural than those in more disadvantaged areas, according to an analysis (File image)
A separate study in the same journal looked at pain and length of hospital stay after a caesarean section in different ethnic groups, using data from 1,000 patients in 107 NHS delivery rooms in England over a two-week period in October 2021. .
Data from 1,000 patients who underwent cesarean delivery with information on ethnicity and deprivation were included in this analysis.
White patients had a shorter postpartum hospital stay of 35 hours compared to Asian and black patients, who had 44 hours and 49 hours, respectively.
After 30 days, Asian patients had more than twice the risk of moderate or severe pain compared to white patients, with no difference in pain medication use.
There did not appear to be any other differences in the patient groups to explain the results.
The authors of the study, conducted by Dr. James O’Carroll of University College London Hospital, concluded that more work was needed to understand the factors driving differences in postpartum pain and recovery.