Epidurals: How They've Changed, and How They Work

These days, about two-thirds of women in the U.S. have epidurals during labor, said Dr. Aaron Caughey, professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University. In the most recent change, made in the early 2000s, anesthesiologists greatly lowered the dose of the drugs used in an epidural, and they gave women a button they could press if they needed more pain relief. "We're using less drug, and more of it is patient-controlled," said Dr. Stephen H