Is cesarean section general anesthesia or partial anesthesia? What are the side effects of cesarean section anesthesia?

Caesarean section is a very common method of delivery. Many people choose cesarean section. Anesthesia will be given during cesarean section to reduce the pain of pregnant women during the operation. Many pregnant mothers do not know much about cesarean section. Knowing more can help them have a better delivery.

You can choose general anesthesia or partial anesthesia for cesarean section, but cesarean section is not a big operation. If there is nothing abnormal in the physical condition of the pregnant mother, there is no need for general anesthesia. Normally, cesarean section is generally performed with spinal anesthesia, which is commonly known as partial anesthesia, including epidural anesthesia and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Compared with general anesthesia, it can prevent anesthetic drugs from passing through the placental barrier to affect the fetus. The disadvantage is that it has a greater impact on the circulation, and it is not as comfortable and safe as general anesthesia. For some critically ill pregnant women, such as those with obvious abnormalities in coagulation function, severe gestational hypertension, etc., general anesthesia is required, and close cooperation with the neonatology and gynecology departments is required during the operation.

In fact, there is now a more advanced method, which is general anesthesia laryngeal mask or simple intravenous anesthesia under close monitoring. Modern general anesthesia technology can minimize the impact of anesthetic drugs on the fetus, while better ensuring the safety of the mother. However, general anesthesia for cesarean section is different from general surgical anesthesia, and the requirements for anesthesiologists and surgeons are also higher. It cannot be carried out in many grassroots hospitals. Therefore, pregnant mothers and their families can choose general anesthesia or partial anesthesia based on their actual situation (including physical condition, pregnancy situation and economic ability, etc.), the technical level of the hospital, etc., and choose general anesthesia or partial anesthesia under the doctor's advice.

1. You need to stay awake for a long time after surgery

After the mother is anesthetized, the operation officially begins. After the operation, the mother is pushed into the recovery room and stays there for 1 to 2 hours. The specific length of time depends on the anesthesia method used. If the mother uses epidural or spinal anesthesia, she should stay in the recovery room until her lower body regains consciousness and can twist her legs. If general anesthesia is used, she must stay in the recovery room until she fully regains consciousness. Therefore, after anesthesia, she will not be able to wake up in time like a normal delivery.

2. If the anesthesia effect is not good and the pain is unbearable

If the pregnant woman has undergone a trial birth before the cesarean section, the regular contraction of the uterus causes strong pain, and the pregnant woman is relatively tired, then after anesthesia, as the pain of uterine contractions disappears, the pain is relieved, and some pregnant women will fall asleep immediately, and the anesthesia effect is very good. However, there are also cases where the anesthesia effect is poor. In this case, when taking out the fetus and washing the abdominal cavity (the so-called gurgling sound), the pain caused by the traction is very uncomfortable. If this happens, the doctor will use some analgesics and sedatives after the baby is delivered to relieve the pain of the mother, so that the mother will have a strong desire to sleep, thereby reducing the pain.

3. Complications caused by anesthesia

If local anesthesia is used during a caesarean section, some women may experience severe headaches, while others may experience back pain. Symptoms vary from person to person. With general anesthesia, you may feel dizzy, have a dry and sour throat, or feel nauseous and vomit. If morphine is used in the anesthesia, you may also feel itchy all over your body, but these side effects usually disappear within 24 to 48 hours after delivery.

4. Unexpected events during anesthesia

Epidural anesthesia is a commonly used anesthesia method during local anesthesia. This method will interfere with the blood circulation system to a certain extent, so it must be used with caution. If this anesthesia method is used for pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, anemia, poor cardiac compensation function, and uncooperative parturients, accidents are likely to occur, endangering the lives of mothers and babies.

General anesthesia requires endotracheal intubation, but due to the physiological changes in pregnant women, endotracheal intubation is difficult. Once the intubation fails, the mother will be in danger of life.

1. General anesthesia

"General anesthesia" means that the anesthetic enters the body through inhalation or intravenous administration, inhibits the central nervous system, and causes the mother to lose consciousness. During the entire operation, the mother loses consciousness and does not feel any pain. There is no need to worry or be afraid, which has the advantage of "waking up after the operation". The mother will wake up only when all the anesthetic drugs are metabolized, so she cannot see her baby at the first time, and she will feel pain immediately after waking up. That is, what we often say about general anesthesia is "pleasure first, pain later".

Disadvantages of general anesthesia:

Since general anesthesia uses an intravenous injection of anesthetic drugs, these drugs can enter the fetus through the placental blood flow, that is, the fetus is anesthetized while the mother is asleep. Although the dosage is small, a few newborns still need endotracheal intubation after birth because of poor breathing. Moreover, most general anesthetics are Class C drugs for the fetus, because the safety of this drug for the baby cannot be determined and there is a possibility of teratogenicity.

However, in order to minimize the impact of general anesthesia on mother and baby, the cooperation of the hospital team can make the baby exposed to the effects of anesthetic drugs for less than 5 minutes. In layman's terms, the time from the start of general anesthesia to the delivery of the fetus should be completed within 5 minutes, so as to minimize the impact of anesthesia on the newborn. In addition, after the mother takes anesthetic drugs, some protective mechanisms are lost. At this time, if the mother vomits, the vomitus may be inhaled into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia, resulting in the inability to ventilate the lungs properly. Therefore, general anesthesia is more dangerous for both the mother and the fetus. Therefore, the mother should try to avoid using this method of anesthesia. However, although general anesthesia has risks, with the improvement of anesthesia level, the incidence of danger has become lower and lower.

2. Half hemp

Epidural anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia are collectively referred to as spinal anesthesia, commonly known as "semi-anesthesia". Semi-anesthesia can numb the abdomen and lower limbs of the parturient during the operation, making them unable to feel pain, but at the same time, the mind can remain clear. In this case, the parturient can still participate in the delivery process, hear the baby's cry at the first time, and see the baby at the first time of birth, which is conducive to building parent-child relationships.

Disadvantages of semi-hemp:

Since the anesthetic needle needs to pass through the intervertebral space, it may cause ligament damage and cause short-term waist discomfort after delivery, but it can generally heal after rest. Of course, if it is not well maintained, waist pain may accompany you for life. Moreover, any actual operation is not foolproof, and partial anesthesia may fail, such as insufficient drug effect, so waking up in the middle of the process will be unbearable pain, but this situation is very rare, so it is very important to choose a good hospital and doctor.

After giving birth, women will have lochia in their vagina. Lochia refers to the phenomenon that a certain amount of blood, secretions, mucus and other substances flow out of the vagina after giving birth. The mixture that flows out after childbirth is called lochia. For mothers who give birth naturally, lochia will flow out naturally. But for mothers who give birth by caesarean section, lochia will not flow out automatically. They need to press their stomachs to help the lochia flow out. The process of pressing the stomach is very painful, and many mothers can't stand the pain.

Generally, doctors will help you press your belly according to the mother's uterine contraction and blood circulation, so the number of times you need to press depends on the mother's personal situation. Usually, it will be pressed within six hours after the cesarean section, 1-2 times a day, and two days will be enough. If the mother wears a pain pump, it may not be very painful when pressing. And please note that although it is indeed painful when pressing the belly, mothers should try to hold back and not shout loudly. If cold air is inhaled, it will be detrimental to exhaust in the future. And mothers should not lie still in bed after giving birth, as this is not conducive to blood circulation. Mothers should turn over more often to facilitate the discharge of lochia. As long as the lochia is discharged smoothly, doctors and nurses will not come to help you press.