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. 2012 Feb;129(2):e447–e454. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-2301

TABLE 3.

Demographic and Pregnancy Characteristics of the Study Population

Epidural Analgesia
≤99.5°F 99.6°F–100.4°F 100.5°F–101°F >101°F P
(n = 1538) (n = 711) (n = 297) (n = 238)
n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%)
Demographic characteristics
 Mean maternal age in years (± SD) 29.4 (±5.9) 30.1 (±5.2) 30.6 (±5.7) 30.1 (±5.5) .001
 Welfare recipient 203 (13.2) 82 (11.5) 33 (11.1) 26 (10.9) .5
 Smoker 99 (6.4) 38 (5.3) 20 (6.7) 11 (4.6) .5
Pregnancy and labor characteristics
 Mean birth wt in grams (± SD) 3421 (±434) 3548 (±423) 3568 (±403) 3578 (±383) <.0001
 Median length of labor in hours (range) 11 (0.9–60.4) 14.2 (3.2–52.7) 15.4 (3.6–45.0) 16.3 (5.8–57.2) <.0001a
 Premature rupture of membranes 457 (29.7) 223 (31.4) 97 (32.7) 61 (25.9) .3
 Use of Pitocin 1113 (72.4) 583 (82.0) 258 (86.9) 207 (87.0) <.0001
 Fetal distress 204 (13.3) 89 (12.5) 38 (12.8) 41 (17.2) .3b
Delivery
 Spontaneous vaginal delivery 1033 (67.2) 411 (57.8) 157 (52.9) 100 (42.0) <.0001
 Cesarean delivery 220 (14.3) 125 (17.6) 72 (24.2) 72 (30.3)
 Forceps 88 (5.7) 54 (7.6) 24 (8.1) 17 (7.1)
 Vacuum 197 (12.8) 121 (17.0) 44 (14.8) 49 (20.6)

P values refer to comparisons across the 4 groups. Based on χ2 for categorical variables and analysis of variance for continuous variables.

a

Kruskal-Wallis test for nonparametric variables.

b

Fetal distress or nonreassuring fetal status diagnosed by physician.