Lady Christine Ong Sio, Alexander Bautista
This paints a picture of a woman just about ready to bring a new life into the world. Yet such a wonderful childbirth experience can bring one memories of pain, fear, and joy all packaged into one. Childbirth is an experience that is both exciting and painful for every woman. This is a review of the development of obstetric anesthesia and puts in perspective the history of obstetric anesthesia in both the western and eastern medicine, and how each has contributed to the other.
In western medicine, the introduction of modern anesthesia in obstetrical practice has been credited to Sir James Y. Simpson who used ether in childbirth on January 19th of 1847. A few more attempts led him to chloroform which was found to be stronger and better than ether. (Heaton, 1946) By the turn of the 20th century, ether and chloroform were ubiquitous in childbirth on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. (Caton, 2004) Despite this medical breakthrough, however, the British criticized that ether and chloroform not only increased the risk of hemorrhage and infection but had detrimental effects on the newborn. (Edwards & Jackson, 2017) Some would argue that the pain of childbirth was inseparable from the function of the uterus, and to suppress that pain would inhibit labor. (Gibson, 2017) Still, others would argue that to relieve pain during childbirth was to counter the biblical teaching that women would suffer in childbirth after Eve’s sin and that anesthesia would open the door to unnecessary procedures without the patient’s consent. (Gibson, 2017) Figure 1 shows a timeline on the development of obstetric anesthesia in the western part of the globe.
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