Maternal Exposure to General Anesthesia and Labor Epidural Analgesia During Pregnancy and Delivery, and Subsequent Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children

( Int J Obstet Anesth . 2025; 61:104318. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2024.104318) Emerging evidence increasingly highlights the impact of early life exposures—including those during pregnancy—on long-term health and development. The fetal period is particularly sensitive due to the ongoing development of organs and neural systems. While many environmental chemicals have been linked to developmental harms, some medications (including anesthetics, which can be medically necessary during pregnancy) may also pose a safety risk for children. Anesthetics, both general and regional (such as labor epidural analgesia or LEA), provide critical medical benefits and have come under scrutiny for their possible long-term effects on child neurodevelopment.