A new study appearing in the February issue of Pediatrics confirms prior research that has established a link between epidural-related fever during labor and birth injuries in the babies of some women. The study involved more than 3,200 women.

Birth injuries can be wide ranging and vary greatly in severity. Adverse outcomes include respiratory failure, fetal distress, nerve damage resulting from Erb's palsy, and Cerebral palsy, with its attendant brain damage resulting from a lack of oxygen during the birth process. The just-published study also makes reference to poor muscle tone and seizures.

Close to 20 percent of the women studied developed a fever spiking above 100.4 degrees following an epidural for pain. That compares to a figure of about 2.4 percent for women who forego the procedure. Researchers found this direct correlation: the higher the temperature, the greater the likelihood for a baby to have problems.

"It's clear from our data that about 20 percent of the term infants born to mothers who received epidurals experienced one or more adverse outcomes after birth," said the study's lead author

As to why some women develop fevers following an epidural, the researchers posit that inflammatory processes may be involved that cause body heat to increase.

A commentator on the study -- a maternal-fetal medicine specialist -- notes that, while epidural fevers are well established, fevers during labor can also be caused by an intrauterine infection. That infection is medically termed as chorioamnionitis, and is associated with brain damage and Cerebral palsy.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, "Epidural plus fever in mom may raise risks for baby" Jenifer Goodwin, Feb. 3, 2012