Epidural analgesia and lactation.

Present-day mothers have an increased desire to breastfeed, but this desire has increased in parallel with the increased use of epidural analgesia during labor. Epidural anesthesia requires a high level of technical proficiency to avoid serious complications and should always be performed by a trained anesthetist using a strict aseptic technique to reduce the risk of infection. There is currently no consensus regarding the relationship between breastfeeding and epidural analgesia during labor. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effect of epidural analgesia on breastfeeding.