General Anesthesia For Cesarean Section

General anesthesia is rarely used general anesthesia for cesarean delivery is not the norm in north america.

General anesthesia for cesarean section. Obstetric indications which were once considered absolute indications for general anaesthesia such as placenta praevia are now being routinely performed under regional anaesthesia. Fewer than 5 out of every 100 c sections in the us are done with general anesthesia. Most c sections are done with epidural or spinal anesthesia that make you very numb but allow you to be awake to deliver your baby.

General anaesthesia is mostly performed for emergency grade 1 caesarean section and due to a lack of time to apply a neuraxial anaesthesia technique. General anaesthesia for caesarean section is still decreasing in incidence. In fact less than 5 out of every 100 c sections in the united states are done with general anesthesia though more are done in some countries.

Unfortunately the majority of anaesthesiologists rely on historical and partly outdated approaches in this stressful situation. Conversion of epidural analgesia to cesarean anesthesia is one of the most important strategies to reduce the use of general anesthesia during emergency surgery but requires high rates of indwelling epidural catheters equipment availability staff presence on the labor and delivery unit and careful coordination between obstetricians and anesthesiologists. General anaesthesia may be indicated due to urgency maternal refusal of regional techniques inadequate regional block or regional contraindications.