General Anesthesia

A general anesthetic may be used in emergency situations when there is not enough time to perform regional anesthesia (epidural or spinal). It may also be used if you can’t receive an epidural or spinal due to a medical condition (bleeding disorder, severe preeclampsia, extensive prior back surgery, heart problems). General anesthesia can quickly make you unconscious so that surgery can start immediately to deliver your baby.

Procedure:

Once in the operating room, monitors are placed to watch your heart and lungs including blood pressure cuff, oxygen sensor, and EKG leads. You will be given a mask to breathe 100% oxygen. During this time your belly will be cleaned and a drape will be put up to keep the surgical area sterile. You will feel pressure on your neck as you are put under anesthesia with medicine through your IV. After you are unconscious, a breathing tube is placed to help you breathe during surgery. At the end of surgery, the breathing tube is removed and you are moved to the recovery area with your baby. You may receive numbing medication on the side of your belly while you are unconscious to help with the pain of surgery. This is called a TAP block.

Benefits

General Anesthetic is the fastest way to make a woman unconscious for surgery in an emergency (less than 3 minutes).
You will not be able to feel pain during surgery.
An anesthesiologist will closely monitor your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.

Risks

The most common side effects of general anesthesia include low blood pressure, nausea and vomiting.
Rare risks include difficulty placing the breathing tube, chipped tooth, split lip, and allergies to medications.
Extremely rare risks include arrhythmias, heart attack, stroke, reactions to blood transfusion or awareness during surgery.

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