ANAESTHESIA: PREGNANCY, OPERATIVE DELIVERY

• General anaesthesia in eclamptic patient, may cause huge rise in blood pressure at intubation
• Prevent with bolus of 2–3 G magnesium sulphate before intubation
• If mother and child are both critically ill, it is your clear duty to attend to the mother first
• Place pillow under right hip to tilt uterus to avoid supine hypotension (reduce pressure on inferior vena cava)
• Don’t be so concerned about the baby that the mother receives insufficient dose of anaesthetic
• At conclusion of anaesthesia:
  - remember the mother has full stomach
  - remove endotracheal tube with her in lateral position