Language disparities impact Hispanic women during labor

A study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2012 annual meeting found the role of women's primary language impacts whether or not they receive an epidural for pain relief during labor. The birth of an infant is the leading cause of hospital admissions in the United States. Births to minorities account for more than half the births in the country, according to the most recent census.

While epidurals are the most effective method for pain management during labor, evidence suggests there are racial and ethnic disparities in the use of them. Past studies have shown Hispanic women have the lowest rates of epidural use. However, these studies have not looked at the difference among these women based on the primary language spoken at home.

"Our study was the first to evaluate disparities among English and Spanish-speaking Hispanic women admitted for delivery of their first infant," said study author Paloma Toledo, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Anesthesiology and Program for Health Equity, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. "We wanted to confirm if language disparities impact whether or not Hispanic women receive an epidural."