Hemodynamic stability during labor and delivery with continuous epidural infusion.

Context: Epidural anesthesia for labor pain is frequently complicated by maternal hypotension.

Objective: To test whether continuous epidural infusion (CEI) of local anesthetic, without bolus administration, lowers the incidence of hypotension in parturient patients.

Methods: In a single-blind clinical study, subjects were randomly assigned to CEI-only (10 mL/h of 0.