Obstetric anaesthesia is a specialized practice and covers the entire range of pain relief throughout normal labor as well as general anaesthesia for special procedures such as caesarian section. While there is a specialist group based at main teaching centers who practice obsteric anaesthesia exclusively, the majority of anaesthetists are based at smaller hospitals where there is no such specialist. Consequently, it is essential that all anaesthetists are familiar with the anaesthetic requirements of normal labor, and of all but the most extreme cases of abnormal labor. While this book is...