Medicine: New Anesthetic for Childbirth

A remarkable new type of childbirth anesthetic was reported last week in the American Journal of Surgery by Drs. Waldo Edwards and Robert Hingson, who developed it at the U.S. Marine Hospital (where wives of Coast Guardsmen have their babies) on Staten Island, N.Y. The anesthetic is continuous and localized in the pelvic region. A silver needle is inserted into the caudal area, just below the spinal column, where it remains throughout labor. The needle is connected with a flask of the anesthetic, two-thirds of an ounce of which is administered every 30 or 40 minutes. Longest labor during which the anesthetic has been given: 13 hours. The primary purpose of the new technique is to relieve the pain and exhaustion of the early stages of labor, when an anesthetic is not usually given.

The doctors believe that their new technique:

> Shortened labor in all cases by several hours.

> Did not interfere with the uterine contractions which expel the baby, as other anesthetics often do. In about one-third of the cases—a high proportion—labor progressed so smoothly that forceps were not needed for delivery.

> Allowed the mothers to remain wholly conscious and at ease during parturition and thus ”to cooperate completely” with the obstetrician.

> Produced no aftereffects such as delirium, nausea, vomiting.

> Contributed toward spontaneous breathing of the newborn infant.

Drs. Edwards and Hingson are aware that their cases (33 when they wrote their article but now nearly 100) represent a limited experience, so they urge busier hospitals to try out their method. Some doctors object that this type of anesthesia is more likely to injure nerves and blood vessels or produce cerebral reactions than anesthetics such as gases.