The contribution of anaesthesia to maternal mortality

Anaesthesia is now an important cause of maternal death. Most deaths which occur in association with anaesthesia are preventable. Mendelson's syndrome and hypoxic cardiac arrest account for almost all maternal anaesthetic deaths. Although routine antacid therapy in labour does not guarantee to prevent Mendelson's syndrome, the use of antacids is nevertheless fully justified. There remains the possibility of pulmonary irritation due to food particles, bile salts and even the antacid itself. The role of difficult or failed tracheal intubation is emphasized in the causation of hypoxia and the pulmonary aspiration of stomach contents.