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SPINAL ANAESTHESIA BY THE OBSTETRICIAN
Author(s) -
McNie T. McG.,
Dudley AinsworthG.,
Markham Sanford M.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1971.tb00347.x
Subject(s) - medicine , obstetrics and gynaecology , spinal anesthesia , breech delivery , anesthesia , obstetrics , breech presentation , pregnancy , genetics , biology
Summary In 12 years 2995 spinal anaesthetics were administered in one obstetric unit, 2854 of them for vaginal deliveries. In the latter the spontaneous delivery rate was 9 per cent and the operative delivery rate 89 per cent, the remainder being breech and twin deliveries. There was no maternal mortality, no permanent nerve injury, and the perinatal mortality was 11 per thousand total births. We regard low spinal anaesthesia as a safe and acceptable method of regional anaesthesia for vaginal delivery, which can be administered by any obstetrician who learns the details of the method. However, it is not a method to be used casually or as an emergency procedure only; to attain precision in its technique it must be practised regularly.