Division of Obstetric Anesthesia

Our department aims to provide safe and comfortable delivery 24 hours a day.

To achieve our goal, we manage urgent Cesarean section surgery and our specialized anesthesiologists provide epidural labor analgesia on an around-the-clock basis.

Our standard anesthetic procedure for Cesarean section is single-shot spinal or 'SSS,' a small amount of intrathecal opioid, which enables a prolonged post-operative analgesia without the need for an epidural catheter. On the other hand, our standard procedure for labor analgesia is combined spinal epidural analgesia (CSEA), which provides rapid onset and continuous analgesia until delivery. Labor analgesia can be provided at any time upon request, and it is not mandatory to select this option pre-delivery.

Our division is one of the few facilities in Japan to offer around-the-clock obstetric anesthesia services. This unique service has attracted many high-caliber anesthesiologists from across the country to work at the NCCHD.

We manage anesthesia plans for all women and their babies, including high-risk mothers and babies who require high-risk care or fetal treatment, as well as mothers without any known risks.

As the NCCHD offers various kinds of fetal therapy, our division tailors anesthetic management for each patient.

Women who require anesthetic management for labor analgesia and Cesarean section visit our anesthesia clinic prior to delivery. In addition, women with some known risks are encouraged to receive prenatal screening by an anesthesiologist. As a result, more than 80% of our patients receive a prenatal anesthetic evaluation. This practice contributes to the realization of our division's goal to provide a safe and comfortable delivery for all women.