Despite changing individual preferences concerning the use of epidurals as a way to manage pain during labor and delivery, many women in the United States commonly request an epidural as an anesthetic during childbirth. In fact, 50% of women in the United States reportedly chose to use an epidural during childbirth. Past studies have indicated that Hispanic women living in the United States tend to have the lowest rates of epidural use as compared with any other group. Findings from a recent study not only confirmed this trend, but established a high correlation between language barriers and the use of an epidural anesthetic during childbirth.
Epidurals: One of Many Language Barriers to Medicine
In the study, conducted at Northwestern University, researchers analyzed the medical records of over 1,400 Hispanic women who gave birth at a large urban hospital. Their findings strongly suggest that language played a major role in the use of an epidural: Spanish-speaking Hispanic women were less likely than English-speaking Hispanic women to receive an epidural (66% compared to 81%, respectively). Since 96% of all women in the study who requested an epidural received one, Hispanic women clearly were not denied pain relief but rather did not actively request an anesthetic. While these findings further emphasize the importance of overcoming language barriers in the heath care environment, more research must be conducted in this area to confirm these results.
“The study is important because it reveals a health care delivery disparity among Hispanic women based on spoken language. These findings, along with future research, will help us identify and target interventions, whether they are at the system, provider or patient level, to better educate Spanish-speaking Hispanic women about their pain relief options during labor.“
Dr. Paloma Toledo, Department of Anesthesiology & Program for Health Equity School of Medicine, Northwestern University
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