Maternal-fetal medicine specialists query supplemental oxygen in childbirth
It's time to produce evidence of benefit, say the authors of a meta-analysis
There appears to be no benefit to providing supplemental oxygen to women during labour and delivery, according to a large meta-analysis.
The study encompassed 6 randomised clinical trials that compared the association of peripartum maternal oxygen administration with room air on umbilical artery gas measures and neonatal outcomes, with a total of 1078 women in the oxygen group and 974 in the room-air group.
Compared with room air, maternal oxygen supplementation increased umbilical artery PaO2
