Combo Treatment Might Beat Epidural to Ease Labor: Study

Side effects were similar in both groups and there was no significant difference in the type of delivery, with cesarean section rates of 14 percent to 16 percent, concluded the study, which is published in the March issue of the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.

Experts agreed, however, that pain relief during labor is often a case-by-case decision, and the combination approach might have its own drawbacks.

"The study confirms what we know previously -- namely, that the [combination approach] provides faster onset pain relief [by a few minutes] but is associated with a greater incidence of side effects including itching and low fetal heart rates," said Dr. Grant Gilbert, an obstetrician/gynecologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

He added, however, that even though the rate of low fetal heart rate was a bit higher among women in the study who got the combination pain relief, "no patient required emergency cesarean for this fetal heart rate problem."

Gilbert also added that some doctors avoid the intrathecal approach due to a higher risk for meningitis, although this is an "admittedly rare complication" and there were no such incidents in the study.