C-section anesthesia complications fall while others rise

Many New York mothers-to-be may be planning to deliver via a cesarean section. A study showed that complications due to anesthesia given in C-sections fell by 25 percent between 2003 and 2012 in New York hospitals. However, non-anesthetic perioperative complications rose by about 50 percent.

A lead author on the study stated that the decline in epidural or spinal anesthesia complications was a result at least in part to the improvement of safety and the quality of care provided by obstetric anesthesiologists. The complications associated with general anesthesia, however, did not decline. One of the study's authors stated that the rise in non-anesthetic perioperative complications was in part due to the increasing ages of the mothers in addition to pre-existing health copnditions.

The report notes that the decrease in anesthesia-related complications came as the number of cesarean deliveries increased. This essentially means that C-section births have become much more safe. However, there are other areas that need improvement, especially when it comes to increasing non-anesthetic perioperative complications and general anesthesia complications. Part of the complications may arise when physicians do not have the skills to use general anesthesia if an unplanned cesarean delivery is needed in emergency situations.

If a birth injury occurs during delivery due to negligence on the part of hospital staff, the child may suffer developmental delays, permanent physical injuries and other hardships that the child and his or her parents may otherwise not have had to deal with. In such cases, the assistance of a medical malpractice attorney may be advisable in seeking compensation for the damages that have been sustained.