Regional Analgesia in Obstetrics

Section 1: Use of regional analgesia — an international perspective.- 1. Anaesthesia care for obstetric patients in the United States.- 2. Obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia in Latin-America.- 3. Pain relief in labour in Great Britain and Ireland.- 4. Regional analgesia in Scandinavia.- 5. Obstetrics anaesthesia practices in some countries in Western Europe.- 6. Use of regional anaesthesia in some Central and Eastern European countries.- 7. Obstetric anaesthesia practices in Turkey.- 8. Regional anaesthesia and analgesia for obstetrics in Australia and New Zealand.- 9. Regional analgesia in obstetrics in the Far East.- Section 2: Developments in techniques in the past decade.- 10. Mobile epidural techniques and new drugs in labour.- 11. Spinal analgesia in labour.- 12. Top-ups versus infusions and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA).- 13. Before the block: fluid preloading and testing the catheter.- 14. Clinical trials: what should we assess?.- 15. Clinical trials: up-down sequential allocation.- Section 3: Current indications for regional analgesia in labour.- 16. Current indications for regional analgesia: obstetric complications.- 17. Current indications for regional analgesia and anaesthesia: intercurrent medical disease.- 18. Current indications for regional analgesia in labour: what is the place of epidural analgesia in normal labour?.- Section 4: Effects of regional analgesia.- 19. The benefits of labour analgesia.- 20. Effects of regional analgesia on labour and delivery.- 21. Neonatal effects of regional analgesia.- Section 5: Operative delivery.- 22. Regional anaesthesia for operative delivery.- 23. Postoperative pain relief.- Section 6: Complications of regional analgesia.- 24. Immediate complications of regional blockade in obstetrics.- 25. Dural puncture and headache.- 26. Long term sequelae of childbirth: backache.- 27. Long term neurological sequelae of childbirth.- 28. The impact of regional anaesthesia on maternal mortality.- 29. Contraindications to regional analgesia in labour?7.- 30. Medicolegal implications.- 31. Information and consent.