Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 11/10/2008

Question
Last year, I had my second c-section and thought I was near death as I could
not breathe and was gasping for breath.  The doctor immediately put oxygen
on and I felt much better...but it was terryifying and I'm horribly scared for
the next c-section which is schedule for Tuesday (Nov. 11).  I'm also scared
because it's only been 17 months since my last one and I feel like I may die
this time.

Is it normal to feel this way?  Is there something I can ask my anesthesiologist
to do to make me more comfortable?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  

Answer
Kristen
Please let the anaesthetic team know about how you are feeling, don't hide it and try and deal with it yourself.
I explain to my patients having a c-section that they may feel problems with their breathing but that this is short lived and tends to go away once the baby is born.
The reason it happenes is that the local anaesthetic block affects the 'intercostal' muscles between your ribs and so they are no longer able to be used for breathing. You are therefore dependent on your diaphragm for your breathing. It is having to push down against everything in your tummy which includes the uterus and baby - this is what gives you the feeling of 'I can't breathe'. Once the baby is born it is a lot easier for your diaphragm and so the feeling tends to pass.
It varies between patients and between sections so I can't say it will or won't be an issue this time. However I hope the explanation of why it happens helps a bit - I find that many colleagues fail to grasp the significance and degree of discomfort this can cause.
So let the team kow how bad it felt and hopefully they will support you through this.
Kind regards and best of luck
Dr Ian Jackson