Neonatal pattern of breathing following cesarean section: epidural versus general anesthesia

We tested the hypothesis that different anesthetic techniques for elective cesarean section would be reflected in the pattern of breathing and its control after birth. The pattern of breathing, including tidal volume, total breath duration (TTOT), minute ventilation, inspiratory (TI) and expiratory times, TI/TTOT ratio, and mouth occlusion pressure, was measured in 27 infants delivered by elective cesarean section during maternal epidural (lidocaine-carbon dioxide-epinephrine, n = 19) or general anesthesia (66% oxygen in N2O and 0.5% halothane, n = 8) at 10, 60, and 90 min and 3-5 days of age. Neonatal acid-base values and Apgar scores were within normal limits in both groups of infants. In general, at any given age the values of the respiratory parameters measured and their variability were similar between the two groups of infants. These findings indicate that the pattern of breathing after birth is not different following epidural or general anesthesia, and on the basis of our measurements, both epidural or general anesthesia appeared equally suitable for elective cesarean section.