Maternal and Fetal Clinical Significance of Hypotension Following Labor Epidural Analgesia

November 26, 2025 updated by: Maxim Glebov, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center

Incidence and Clinical Significance of Maternal Hypotension After Labor Epidural Analgesia and Its Effects on Fetal Well-Being

The goal of this study is to learn how often blood pressure drops after an epidural for labor and how these drops may affect the parent and the baby. The study focuses on adults who give birth at term and choose to receive an epidural for pain relief.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

How often does maternal blood pressure fall within 30 minutes after the epidural? When blood pressure falls, how often do participants need treatments such as fluids or medicines that raise blood pressure? Do changes in the baby's heart rate happen during this time, and do they need treatment? Are certain parent or labor factors linked to a higher chance of blood pressure drops? How often does an urgent cesarean delivery happen because of maternal low blood pressure or concerning fetal heart rate changes soon after the epidural?

Participants will not be asked to do anything different from usual care. Researchers will:

Review routine vital signs recorded before and after the epidural Review treatments given, such as IV fluids or blood-pressure-raising medicines Review the baby's heart-rate monitoring Record delivery information, including whether an urgent cesarean was needed This study does not change clinical care in any way. It uses information already collected during standard labor and delivery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
480

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Laboring adults who receive epidural analgesia for pain relief at the labor and delivery unit of Sheba Medical Center, a large tertiary hospital in Israel. Participants represent people giving birth at term who choose epidural analgesia as part of their routine clinical care.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • 37 weeks pregnant or more (term pregnancy)
  • in labor and choose to receive an epidural for pain relief
  • giving birth at Sheba Medical Center

Exclusion Criteria:

  • patients with a heart condition that requires special blood pressure management
  • medical conditions that prevent safe monitoring of blood pressure
  • missing or incomplete medical record data needed for the study
  • patient who do not receive an epidural during labor

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Laboring Participants Receiving Epidural Analgesia
This cohort includes adults in labor at Sheba Medical Center who choose to receive epidural analgesia for pain relief. All participants receive standard clinical care. Researchers will observe maternal blood pressure and fetal heart rate changes during the first 30 minutes after the epidural.
Other: Epidural Analgesia (Standard Clinical Care)
Participants receive epidural analgesia for labor pain relief as part of routine clinical care at Sheba Medical Center. The epidural involves placement of an epidural catheter, a test dose, and a loading dose of local anesthetic according to hospital protocol. The study does not change how the epidural is performed. Researchers only observe maternal blood pressure and fetal heart rate after epidural placement.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Absolute and relative number of patients with any MAP (mean arterial pressure) < 65 mmHg
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Hypotension after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Absolute and relative number of patients with any MAP (mean arterial pressure) < 60, 55 mmHg
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Hypotension after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients with any SBP (systolic blood pressure) < 90, 85, 80 mmHg
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Hypotension after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Incidence of postepidural hypotension defined as ≥20% MAP (mean arterial pressure) drop
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Hypotension after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients with ≥20% SBP (systolic blood pressure) drop
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Hypotension after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Time-to-treatment of Hypotension (minutes)
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
The time interval between epidural placement and the treatment of hypotension by clinical staff
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Area under a MAP of 65, 60, 55 mmHg [mmHg x min]
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients with symptoms due to hypotension
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Weakness, lightheadedness, fainting, dizziness, nausea, vomiting
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients with NRFHR (Non-reassuring fetal heart rate)
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients who received fluid bolus
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative number of patients who received vasopressor
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Phenylephrine, ephedrine
First 30 minutes after epidural placement
Absolute and relative numbers of patients who underwent urgent Cesarean section (Category 1 or 2 urgency) due to hypotension or NRFHR (non-reassuring fetal heart rate)
Time Frame: First 30 minutes after epidural placement
First 30 minutes after epidural placement

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The Chaim Sheba Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 18, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SMC-2210-25

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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