Objective: To observe fetal arteriolar oxygen saturation during maternal epidural analgesia.
Design: An observation study of 27 epidural top-ups.
Setting: Labour ward, St James's University Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds University, UK.
Sample: Seventeen fetuses in uncomplicated labour monitored with a N400 fetal pulse oximeter.
Outcome measure: A change in fetal pulse oximetry reading following epidural analgesia.
Results: There is no change in fetal oxygen saturation following an uncomplicated epidural top-up (F = 0.93; df 35 and 784).
Conclusion: An uneventful maternal epidural has no measurable effect on fetal oxygen saturation measured with a N400 pulse oximeter.