The aim of this prospective, doubled-blinded randomized study is to compare two modes of
epidural analgesia delivery, programmed intermittent epidural boluses (PIEB) versus
continuous epidural infusion (CEI) with patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) dosing,
for providing labor epidural analgesia. The primary outcome will be the volume of local
anesthetic received through PCEA. Secondary outcomes will measure time to first PCEA bolus,
labor pain scores, degree of motor blockade, mode of delivery, PCEA attempts and ratio of
successful to unsuccessful attempts, frequency of hypotension, duration of first and second
stages of labor and level of patient satisfaction. The investigator plans to enroll 120
nulliparous participants at 2-5 com cervical dilation, with 60 patients to each arm. The
subject will be assigned to receive either delivery of epidural medication ropivacaine 0.1%
with fentanyl 2mcg/mL with PIEB + PCEA dosing method or CEI + PCEA. Continuous data will be
analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test or t-test as appropriate. Categorical data will be
analyzed using Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate.