Why can't caesarean section be performed under general anesthesia?

Caesarean section is a relatively common method of delivery. For example, in cases of difficult labor, excessively large fetus, or abnormal pregnancy, a caesarean section is generally required. However, caesarean section is usually performed under partial anesthesia, which means that during the operation, the person's consciousness is very clear. General anesthesia is not recommended for caesarean section, but this situation is generally decided based on the actual situation and is treated accordingly.

Why is general anesthesia used for caesarean section of second child?

The anesthesia method for caesarean section requires the anesthesiologist to make a conclusion after a detailed assessment of the condition of the pregnant woman and the fetus. Caesarean section mostly uses epidural anesthesia or spinal anesthesia (a type of local anesthesia), and the range of anesthesia is the surgical area (roughly below the nipple and above the perineum). Although the mother is awake during the operation, she does not feel any pain. Compared with general anesthesia, the risks and side effects are much smaller, making it the preferred anesthesia method for cesarean section. Although general anesthesia completely eliminates the feeling of pain, it is not good for the fetus and may even affect the baby's breathing and cause symptoms of hypoxia.

What should I pay attention to during caesarean section?

On the day of delivery, cesarean section should be performed on an empty stomach. Prepare all the supplies for hospitalization and the baby. After the operation, pay attention to the protection of the incision. During the confinement period, be careful not to eat spicy food, avoid catching cold, and get plenty of rest. If you are breastfeeding, make sure to drink some foods such as pig's trotter soup or chicken soup to increase milk production.

As long as it is a caesarean section, anesthesia is definitely required, but whether it is local anesthesia or general anesthesia varies from person to person. The surgeon needs to make a judgment based on the actual situation of the pregnant woman. Everyone says that anesthetics are harmful to the human body. Therefore, it is best not to choose a caesarean section if a natural birth is possible. Generally, women who give birth naturally are easier to recover.

General anesthesia for cesarean section

The general anesthesia method used in cesarean section, referred to as "general anesthesia", refers to the anesthetic entering the body through inhalation or intravenous administration, inhibiting the central nervous system and causing the mother to lose consciousness. During the entire operation, the mother loses consciousness and does not feel any pain. She does not need to worry or be afraid. She has the advantage of "waking up after the operation". The mother will only wake up when all the anesthetics are metabolized, but she will feel pain immediately after waking up. This is what we often call general anesthesia: "pleasure first, pain later."

Since general anesthesia involves injecting anesthetic drugs intravenously, these drugs can enter the fetus through the placental blood flow. That is, the fetus is anesthetized while the mother is asleep. Although the amount of drugs used is small, a small number of newborns still require tracheal intubation after birth because of poor breathing. In addition, mothers who receive general anesthesia lose certain protective mechanisms after taking anesthetic drugs. At this time, if the mother vomits, the vomitus may be inhaled into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia, resulting in inability to ventilate the lungs properly. Therefore, general anesthesia is very risky 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, the incidence of danger has become lower and lower with the improvement of anesthesia level.

Partial anesthesia for cesarean section

The three types of anesthesia, epidural anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia, are collectively referred to as spinal anesthesia, commonly known as "semi-anesthesia". Partial anesthesia can numb the abdomen and lower limbs of the mother during the operation, making her feel no pain, but at the same time, her mind can remain clear. In this case, the mother can still participate in the delivery process, hear the baby's cry for the first time, and see the baby for the first time after the baby is born, which is conducive to building parent-child relationships. However, since the anesthetic needle needs to pass through the intervertebral space, it may cause ligament damage and cause short-term low back discomfort after delivery, but it will generally heal after rest.

Local infiltration anesthesia is the simplest and most direct anesthesia technique. The anesthetic effect is far inferior to the various methods mentioned above. Its indications are limited. This type of anesthesia will only be used to complete a cesarean section when fetal distress occurs and the anesthesiologist is not on site, or when the fetal distress is severe and delivery is urgent, or when the mother has both difficult airway and contraindications to spinal anesthesia.

The current mainstream academic view is that spinal anesthesia is safer for cesarean section. General anesthesia has various unsafe factors, so anesthesiologists generally prefer spinal anesthesia, which is partial anesthesia.