[Epidural analgesia in the first stage of labor--is there an alternative?].

Objective: To evaluate the influence of epidural analgesia and lumbar paravertebral block on the structure of the delivery, the fetus and newborn, and the quality and duration of analgesia.

Materials And Methods: Patients were randomized into three groups, 30 patients in each group. In the group-1 patients received epidural analgesia (EA), in the group-2--paravertebral block (PVB), in the group-3 patients refused pain relief in labor.