Do antenatal education classes decrease use of epidural analgesia during labour? – a Danish RCT

Abstract

Background Epidural analgesia is widely used as pain relief during labour but has negative side effects, such as prolonged labour and increased risk of obstetric interventions. Antenatal education in small groups may increase trust in own ability to cope at home in the early stages of labour, and reduce fear during birth which in turn may decrease use of pain relief. Few randomised trials have examined the effect of attending antenatal education …