it is very effective, although there is a 5% failure rate
it provides enough analgesia for an instrumental delivery, and can be used for operative delivery
it is beneficial for the compromised fetus, eg in a breech delivery
it has a good safety record
longterm backache is no more common after epidural anaesthesia than after other forms of anaesthesia (1)
Reference:
1) Randomised study of long term outcome after epidural versus non-epidural analgesia during labour. (2002). Howell, CJ, Dean, T, Lucking, L, et al. BMJ, 325, 357-9.
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