Having an epidural during labor is not associated with clinically significant increased risks of harm to newborn babies, including brain injury, severe breathing problems, sepsis and death, or cerebral palsy later in childhood, according to a study published in The BMJ.

The researchers say these findings “support widening availability and equitable access to epidural analgesia as a safe component of intrapartum care.”

Epidural analgesia in labor provides effective pain relief and may help reduce complications in mothers after giving birth, but evidence of its effect on newborn and child health is limited.