Anesthesia During C Section

The double goal of a c section is safety and speed.

Anesthesia during c section. 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. Common choices include a spinal block and an epidural block. Spinal anesthesia is the most common followed by epidural.

During a c section regional anesthesia involves the administration of a spinal or epidural anesthetic into the mother s lower back. Spinal epidural and general anesthesia. Cnn women who have general anesthesia during c sections are significantly more likely to experience severe postpartum depression resulting in hospitalization suicidal thoughts or self harm.

General anesthesia is much more rare and mostly used in very significant emergencies. Most c sections are done under regional anesthesia which numbs only the lower part of your body allowing you to remain awake during the procedure. The three main types of anesthesia that are used for c sections are.

Some facilities and providers may offer an injectable long acting local anesthetic during c section in addition to the regional or general anesthetic. This is an effort to minimize the need for post operative pain medications specifically opioids.