[Obstetrical anesthesia and resuscitation in Africa]

In Africa, the obstetrical risk is related to the difficulty to monitor the pregnancy during which obstetrical emergency may occur and will have to be treated by the practitioner with, sometimes, inadequate facilities. The authors examine the problems concerning successively the expectant mother, the foetus and the placenta. Then, they propose some solutions in the field of anesthesia and intensive care. The expectant mothers are exposed to the heat and sometimes are suffering from undernutrition, so it requires special attention when using anesthetics. In addition, they frequently present an increased morbidity:--universal diseases among which renovascular syndromes often lead to eclampsia and to abruptio placentae;--tropical diseases may raise problems either to anesthesia (sickle cell anemia, bilharziosis) or to intensive care (algid pernicious fever, malignant amebiasis). Children are subject to an increased stillbirth rate in accordance with pregnancy duration and with the intensive facilities available at the time of the birth. Either infective or mechanical complications may occur in placenta and they may cause some distress to both mother and foetus. With respect to all these cases, the authors examine the various analgesia methods for obstetrical purpose and point out their indications and contraindications. It seems that regional anesthesia is suitable for health posts without facilities. Peridural anesthesia is operative with a great number of situations but it requires some technical training. Then methods to monitor both mother and foetus are exposed. According to the available facilities, ways and means are given to solve problems of anesthesia: labour maternal complications (Mendelson's syndrome, eclampsia, obstetrical complications either mechanical and hemorrhagic) or secondary complications (bacterial or parasitic complications, renal insufficiency); foetal complications either during labour, or at birth, or after delivery.