What are the effects of cesarean section anesthesia on pregnant women?

Nowadays, more and more pregnant women choose caesarean section, but compared with natural birth, caesarean section is still more risky because it involves anesthesia and surgery, which can easily lead to excessive blood loss or side effects of anesthesia. Therefore, before choosing caesarean section, mothers should understand its risks in detail.

What pregnant women need to know about anesthesia for cesarean section

What the impact could be: While anesthesia for a C-section doesn't slow cervical dilation or increase risk, they may prolong the pushing phase of labor by an average of 20 minutes. This may raise your body temperature, increasing your chances of developing a fever.

Will anesthesia hurt? During anesthesia, the pregnant woman will be placed on the bed and lie on her side, and then the anesthesiologist will give you anesthesia. The anesthetic needle will be inserted into your spine, which may be a little uncomfortable and a little painful.

Uterine contractions affect anesthesia: Since uterine contractions may occur frequently, it is unlikely that anesthesia will be performed between two contractions. However, uterine contractions do not affect the anesthesia process. Generally speaking, the anesthesia process is very fast.

Is the position correct? Basically, the anesthesiologist can find the epidural space within 60 seconds and quickly insert the catheter for anesthesia. The whole process may not take more than 3 minutes, so you will not realize whether the anesthesiologist has inserted the catheter in the wrong position.

Can you walk after anesthesia: Basically, you will be pushed into the operating room immediately after anesthesia to prepare for all pre-operative monitoring, and the pregnant woman's lower body will begin to lose sensation, so you must lie on the bed.

Possible risks of cesarean section

Bleeding is heavier: Caesarean section is a surgical procedure and therefore results in more blood loss than vaginal delivery. If something goes wrong during the procedure, there is a risk of heavy bleeding.

Anesthesia risks for pregnant women: Since anesthesia is an invasive medical procedure, if the anesthesia process is not performed by a professional anesthesiologist, it may result in an overdose and cause the risk of coma in pregnant women.

Risk of postoperative infection: Caesarean section is an open surgery, so there is a risk of infection in the wound or uterine adhesion problems, which will cause greater harm to the mother.

Side effects of anesthesia: If the anesthetic is accidentally injected into the blood vessels during anesthesia or the dose is too high, side effects may occur, such as vomiting, hypotension, dizziness, epilepsy, etc.

Back pain after surgery: Many mothers will experience back pain after surgery. 1 to 2 out of 4 people may have this problem. You should be able to recover by resting more and working more after the surgery.