NPR

When Giving Birth For The First Time, Push Away

There's no benefit to delaying pushing after receiving epidural anesthesia and reaching full dilation. A delay increases the risk of complications, particularly for the mother, a large study finds.

If you're a first-time mother and you opt for epidural anesthesia during labor, your doctor may suggest you wait about an hour after your cervix is completely dilated before you start trying to push the baby down the birth canal.

But a study published Tuesday in JAMA, the flagship journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that might not be the best advice.

"Our findings suggest that women becoming moms for of Washington University in St. Louis, who headed the study.

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