After taking the mother 's age and education into account , the researchers found that stopping breastfeeding during the six months following childbirth was twice as likely for women who used epidurals compared to those that did not .
A widespread " antipathy to childbirth pain " has emerged in the past 20 years and combined with increased patient rights and risk-averse doctors to create a situation where almost all hospitals now offer epidurals on demand , even if that is not in the mother 's or baby 's interests .
