06 — Anesthetic Technique
Obstetric Anesthesia
Labor epidurals and anesthesia for cesarean delivery, planned to support maternal comfort and maternal and fetal well-being.
About this technique
Obstetric anesthesia focuses on the comfort and safety of both mother and baby throughout labor and delivery. Neuraxial techniques — epidural, spinal and combined spinal-epidural — provide highly effective labor pain relief and generally relieve pain better than systemic opioids.
For most cesarean deliveries, spinal or epidural anesthesia is considered in preference to general anesthesia, usually allowing the mother to remain awake and avoiding routine airway instrumentation. The ASA Practice Guidelines for Obstetric Anesthesia support neuraxial techniques for most cesarean deliveries and outline preparation for emergencies, including personnel and equipment readily available to manage airway emergencies.
Care balances maternal comfort with hemodynamic stability and fetal well-being, and requires close coordination with the obstetric team together with the facility resources appropriate to the case.
Questions patients ask
- How does Dr. Seitz approach patient safety during anesthesia?
- Patient safety is the foundation of Dr. Seitz's practice. Every anesthetic plan is tailored to the individual patient through careful assessment, preparation, monitoring, and communication with the surgical team.
- Can Dr. Seitz provide anesthesia at our office or surgery center?
- Yes. Dr. Seitz has experience providing anesthesia care in office-based and ambulatory settings across a variety of specialties and procedures. Practices without an in-house anesthesia team can arrange on-site coverage directly with Dr. Seitz, bringing physician-level anesthesia care to the office or surgery center where the procedure is performed, under the standards applicable to that setting.
Read more
Obstetric Anesthesia Coverage: What the National Guidelines Establish
How ACOG and ASA/SOAP guidance informs labor-analgesia access, cesarean anesthesia planning, and the preparedness a unit must maintain for mother and baby.
Read the articleOther techniques
- 01
Total Intravenous Anesthesia (TIVA)
Anesthesia maintained with intravenous medications, adjusted to the patient's needs throughout the procedure.
- 02
General Anesthesia
Monitored anesthesia for major and complex surgery, with individualized dosing and support of vital functions throughout the operation.
- 03
Monitored Anesthesia Care
Physician-directed anesthesia care for procedures, with the patient assessed, monitored and supported at every level from relaxed to deeply asleep.
- 04
Regional Anesthesia & Nerve Blocks
Targeted numbing techniques that provide focused pain relief and may reduce the need for opioid pain medicines.
- 05
Procedural Anesthesia
Individualized anesthesia and sedation for surgical and nonsurgical procedures, with monitoring selected according to the patient's needs and the planned anesthesia.