Obstetric Anesthesia
The labor and delivery floor is the happiest place in the hospital. The challenge of bringing healthy babies and mothers through the process of delivery motivates everyone who works here. Anesthesia providers play a critical role in keeping patients and their babies pain free and safe. First, we provide pain relief for normal deliveries. This is a highly valued skill by everyone on the floor. No surgeon, nurse, or family member wants to see a delivering mother suffer the pain of labor if they choose not to.
Cesarean section is the most common surgery in the country today and the rate is rising. Usually during this procedure, unlike any other, patients remain awake, which requires the anesthesia team to manage the patient’s psychological as well as physiological response to surgery and anesthesia.
We play a very important role during critical events that occur during labor and delivery. Emergency cesarean sections, post-partum hemorrhage, amniotic fluid embolism and eclampsia are some of the serious complications of pregnancy that we routinely help to manage.
The team at UMass Memorial Health performs nearly 4,000 deliveries a year, including high-risk pregnancies with a level III NICU providing care. Residents rotating through obstetric anesthesia will find the joy in participating in the birth of a new baby and gain confidence in the management of straightforward and complicated deliveries.