If the Caesarean has been performed with only a spinal anaesthetic, then there will be no catheter left in the epidural space for giving further epidural pain relief after the birth.
Once the spinal wears off (after 2 to 6 hours) the woman will need injections of narcotic drugs such as pethidine or morphine to relieve the pain. These will usually need to be given every 3 to 6 hours for the first 24 to 48 hours and can make the woman quite sleepy and drowsy.
Some hospitals will use a drip in the woman's vein to administer these types of pain relieving narcotics. The medication is delivered in small doses continuously into the woman's vein. It is now becoming more common to administer the pain relief using Patient Controlled Analgesia or 'PCA'.
PCA involves the woman periodically pressing a button to give small measured doses of narcotic medication when she feels uncomfortable. There is also an inbuilt mechanism that prevents her from overdosing on the medication. This method has been shown to make most women more comfortable as well as lessening the amount of medication they require.
Other rare side effects
The following are a few of the very rare complications that are possible for the woman having an spinal anaesthetic. As with any intervention there are always possible risks that you should be aware of. They can include:
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A spinal infection, for example Meningitis (an infection of the tissue surrounding the brain). These would be treated with antibiotics. Infection could also include an abscess in the lower spine, occurring about 1:500,000. The abscess may need to be drained. |
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Paralysis. The incidence of permanent paralysis is unclear but is believed to be from around 1:250,000 to 1:1,000,000. |
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