Can you have general anaesthetic when pregnant

After the delivery, the drugs will wear off, and your anesthesiologist will bring you back to consciousness. You may experience common side effects such as:.

Regional blocks, such as a spinal anesthetic or epidural, are preferable. However, general anesthesia can be applied quickly in an emergency or if you need a cesarean delivery quickly. If part of your baby is already in the birth canal when you need general anesthesia, you can get it without having to sit up or change positions.

Other anesthetics, such as an epidural, sometimes only give partial relief of pain. For some women who require a cesarean delivery and have had back surgery or have back deformities, general anesthesia may be an acceptable alternative to regional or spinal anesthesia. These can be difficult to administer because of prior health issues. If you have a bleeding disorder, a brain tumor, or increased intracranial pressure, you may not be able to receive an epidural or spinal anesthetic, and you may need general anesthesia.

Your doctor will try to avoid using general anesthesia during childbirth because the delivery process requires you to be conscious and active.

However, you may need general anesthesia if you have certain health issues. Researchers say people who misuse fentanyl may experience brain damage that causes a temporary loss of memory. From virtual gatherings to Thanksgiving dinners held outdoors, here's how to celebrate the holiday safely during the COVID pandemic.

Anesthesia allergies are rare, but they can happen. Talk with your healthcare providers about the benefits, risks, and appropriate timing of surgery or procedures requiring general anesthesia. I work in an office that uses general anesthesia. Would that affect the baby? Different work settings can result in different exposures. MotherToBaby has fact sheets that talks about possible exposures in the workplace. Most anesthetic medications are removed from the body quickly.

While there are not many studies looking at breastfeeding after a procedure, most experts suggest that breastfeeding can be restarted as soon as the mother recovers from the anesthesia and is feeling well enough to breastfeed. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all your breastfeeding questions. If a man is exposed to general anesthesia, could it affect his fertility ability to get partner pregnant or increase the chance of birth defects?

There are no studies looking at possible risks to a pregnancy when the father has anesthesia. In general, exposures that fathers have are unlikely to increase risks to a pregnancy. Please click here for references. Media Inquiries Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to footer. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Indian J Anaesth v. Indian J Anaesth. Madhusudan Upadya and PJ Saneesh 1.

Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Address for correspondence: Dr. E-mail: ude. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy posts additional concerns to anaesthesiologists.

Keywords: Anaesthesia, foetal development, non-obstetric surgery, pregnancy, teratogenicity. Table 1 The key anaesthetic concerns for non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy. Open in a separate window. Foetal safety Depending on the dose administered, the timing of exposure with respect to development, and the route of administration of any drug given during pregnancy can potentially jeopardise the development of the foetus.

Placental transfer of drugs The placental drug transfer depends on various factors. Table 2 The placental transfer characteristics of commonly used drugs. Issue of teratogenicity A teratogen is defined as a substance that causes an increase in the incidence of a particular defect in a foetus that cannot be attributed to chance. Food and drug administration pregnancy risk categories The Food and Drug Administration FDA final rule requires the removal of the pregnancy categories A, B, C, D and X from all human prescription drug and biological product labelling.

Teratogenicity of common anaesthetic drugs N 2 O inhibits methionine synthetase, an enzyme necessary for DNA synthesis. Maternal factors linked to foetal compromise Since autoregulation is absent for the uteroplacental circulation, any reduction in maternal arterial pressure can compromise uteroplacental blood flow leading to foetal ischaemia.

Risk of preterm labour Many studies have reported an increased incidence of spontaneous abortion, premature labour, and preterm delivery after non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy. Figure 1. Decision-making algorithm for non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy. Foetal monitoring Foetal heart monitoring should be interpreted by an experienced operator with an understanding of the changes encountered during surgery and anaesthesia.

Monitoring for uterine contractions When external tocodynamometer can be placed outside of the surgical field, uterine contractions may be monitored intraoperatively. Recovery from anaesthesia Recovery from anaesthesia requires close monitoring, particularly of the airway and respiratory system, because most severe anaesthetic complications due to hypoventilation or airway obstruction occur during emergence, extubation, or recovery.

Post-operative analgesia Provision of adequate analgesia is important in the post-operative period as well, since the pain has been shown to increase the risk of premature labour. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest. Nonobstetric emergencies in pregnancy: Trauma and surgical conditions. Am J Obstet Gynecol. Crowhurst JA.

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