The effects of epidural analgesia on fetal heart rate, fetal heart rate variability, uterine activity, maternal blood pressure, newborn Apgar scores, neonatal acid base status, and the early neonatal neurobehavioral status were studied in 150 parturients during labor and delivery. Group I (n = 50) received 0.5% bupivacaine, group II (n = 50) received 2% 2-chloroprocaine, and in group III (n = 50) received 1.5% lidocaine. None of the three local anesthetics used had any significant effect on either base line fetal heart rate, beat-to-beat variability, or uterine activity. In cases in which monitoring of fetal heart rate was both technically satisfactory and continuous, late deceleration patterns were seen in 8 of 42, 0 of 34, and 3 of 47 of the fetuses in group I, II, and III, respectively. The difference in incidence of late deceleration patterns between groups I and II was statistically significant (p less than 0.025). Early neonatal neurobehavioral status did not differ among the three groups of neonates nor did any of the neonates in the three groups score lower than a control group of 20 neonates whose mothers did not receive any analgesia or medications for labor or delivery. It is concluded that epidural anesthesia as administered in this study has no significant effect on the base line fetal heart rate, uterine activity, or neurobehavioral status of the neonate, and that bupivacaine is associated with a higher incidence of what appears to be transient abnormalities of fetal heart rate.