OB Anesthesia Insight: Intraoperative Pain Management During C-section

Cesarean delivery is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S., and pain during C-section under neuraxial anesthesia is an important and increasingly visible concern. Recent media has brought attention to patients who experienced intraoperative pain and felt their voices were dismissed. While such events are relatively rare, they can lead to significant trauma, difficulty bonding with the baby, and long-term anxiety about future births.

For anesthesia teams looking to update their protocols and improve outcomes, read the full article on KevinMD.com, by NAPA anesthesiologist Megan Rosenstein, MD, MBA, and The Doctors Company. It includes additional information and resources from the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) and NAPA’s Obstetric Resource Center.

Practical strategies include proactively optimizing labor epidurals, standardizing how intraoperative pain is assessed and treated, strengthening informed consent and communication, using structured documentation tools and EHR prompts, defining clear criteria for conversion to general anesthesia, and supporting patients’ and families’ emotional well-being after delivery.

SOURCE: KevinMD.com