When possible a caesarean section is performed after administering either a spinal anaesthetic or an epidural.
An epidural is a local anaesthestic that is injected into your back to prevent your feeling pain in that area of your body when an injection in the back to stop you feeling pain in a part of your body.
A spinal anaesthestic is similar to an epidural however the medication is injected into the fluids that surround your lower spinal cord.
With either of these injections, you won’t experience pain but you will feel tugging until you give birth. The procedure takes from 30 to 40 minutes, and baby is most often born within the first ten minutes. There is a curtain present to ensure that neither you or your partner can see the procedure being carried out.
A general anaesthetic – which is the medication that puts you to sleep for the duration of a procedure – is only used when absolutely necessary. So this is more likely to happen in an emergency caesarean section.