Patients
We included women with singleton gestations at term
(> 37 weeks) between 18 and 45 years of age admitted
due to spontaneous labour onset. Exclusion criteria were 1) previous or
current comorbidities (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, recurrent
urinary tract infections, or an episode of vaginal bleeding during the
second half of pregnancy); 2) maternal pyrexia at admission, defined as
a temperature of 38.0 °C once or 37.5 °C on two occasions two hours
apart. 3) tobacco exposure in the previous 24 hours; 4) haemoglobin
level <9 g/dL; 5) contraindications or refusal of neuraxial
blockade; and 6) current use of medications with known influence on the
cardiovascular system. Additionally, patients with failed neuraxial
blockade or replacement of the epidural catheter due to inadequate pain
control were not included in the final analysis. Patients were
classified according to whether they were under NLA during labour.