Epidural analgesia provides complete motor (causing paralysis) and sensory blockade (causing loss of sensation), around or near the site of pain while allowing the patient to remain conscious. The level of epidural block usually extends distal from the upper abdomen. As a consequence of epidural analgesia; women become immobile and require more frequent observations from the medical staff.

Medication is delivered through a catheter – a very thin, flexible, hollow tube – that’s inserted into the epidural space just outside the membrane that surrounds your spinal cord and spinal fluid. An epidural is the most commonly used method of pain relief for labor in the United States.