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DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1585409
The Historical Development of Obstetric Anesthesia and Its Contributions to Perinatology
Publication History
10 May 2016
05 June 2016
Publication Date:
19 July 2016 (online)
Abstract
Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson first introduced the use of ether and chloroform anesthesia for labor in 1847, just 1 year after William Morton's first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The contemporaneous development of surgical anesthesia and obstetrics enabled obstetric anesthesia to address the pain of childbirth. Shortly after its introduction, obstetricians raised concerns regarding placental transport, or the idea that drugs not only crossed the placenta, but exerted detrimental effects on the neonate. The development of regional anesthesia and clinical work in obstetric anesthesia and perinatology addressed issues of the safety of the neonate, enabling obstetric anesthesia to safely and dramatically reduce the pain of childbirth.
Keywords
obstetric anesthesia - perinatology - drugs - placental transport - Virginia Apgar - James Young Simpson - history - regional anesthesia - twilight sleepNote
Both the authors have contributed equally to this article.
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