Spinal Anesthesia C Section

There are other reasons why general anesthesia may be a better kind of anesthesia for your c section.

Spinal anesthesia c section. The sympathetic block can exceed motor sensory by two dermatomes. Spinal anesthesia blocks small unmyelinated sympathetic fibers first after which it blocks myelinated sensory and motor fibers. Spinal anesthesia recently has gained popularity for elective cesarean section our anesthesia service changed from epidural to spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean section in 1991.

Spinal anesthesia has little effect on ventilation but high spinals can affect abdominal intercostal muscles and the ability to cough. Whether you have general spinal or epidural anesthesia for a cesarean birth will depend on your health and that of your baby. Common choices include a spinal block and an epidural block.

Mcdonald md chairman of the department of anesthesiology and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at ucla medical center spinal block has emerged as the preferred approach to cesarean section anesthesia based on the finding of higher maternal mortality among patients who undergo general anesthesia. For a planned c section you may have a choice of anesthetic although you should be aware that a spinal block or epidural are generally considered the safest options for both you and your baby. The decision to do general anesthesia will be decided by you and your anesthesiologist.

In an emergency general anesthesia is sometimes needed. According to john s. This treatment makes you unconscious and insensitive to pain or other stimuli.

It also depends on why the c section is being performed. The anesthesiologist injects pain medication typically a combination of an opiate and a local anesthetic through the lower back into the spinal fluid bathing the spinal cord. In an emergent c section situation if you have an existing working epidural catheter the anesthesia provider may use your existing epidural catheter to administer an increased volume of local anesthetic to relax your muscles enough to allow your ob to perform a c section.

Spinal anesthesia has the advantages of being easy to perform requiring less time and being more reliable than epidural analgesia. After the spinal anesthetic procedure you should not feel any sharp pain or be able to move from your armpits to your toes. The primary disadvantage is the potential for severe hypotension consider prehydration with 20 cc kg proper positioning and keeping phenylephrine and epinephrine on hand.