When Anesthesia Fails and the Patient Is Cut Open

Overview

This episode explores the alarming phenomenon of anesthesia failure during C-sections, leaving women to endure excruciating pain during major surgery. Reporter Susan Burton shares stories from affected women, examines systemic issues in medical practices, and highlights ongoing efforts to address this problem.

Notable Quotes

- We expect women to suffer during childbirth. Has this assumption allowed us to rationalize the pain of C-sections? - Susan Burton, on societal norms around women's pain.

- When you have a patient screaming and yelling in pain, there's a time to teach, and there's a time to do this really, really fast. - Vanessa Lenner, recounting her traumatic C-section experience.

- The solution is literally talk to the patients more. - Rachel Abrams, on improving communication during C-sections.

🩺 The Dismissal of Women's Pain in Medicine

- Susan Burton recounts how her reporting on a nurse stealing fentanyl led to hundreds of women sharing stories of dismissed pain, from IUD insertions to C-sections.

- Many women reported being told their pain was just pressure, even when experiencing severe discomfort during surgery.

- Cultural norms and systemic issues contribute to the silencing of women’s pain, with phrases like all that matters is a healthy baby minimizing their suffering.

🛑 The Trauma of Anesthesia Failure During C-Sections

- Women like Vanessa Lenner described feeling every incision and organ movement during their C-sections, despite being assured their anesthesia was effective.

- The lack of acknowledgment or apology from medical staff exacerbated the trauma, leaving many with PTSD-like symptoms.

- Vanessa shared how this experience robbed her of the joy of childbirth and influenced her decision not to have more children.

📊 Research and Prevalence of Pain During C-Sections

- A 2026 study across 15 hospitals found that 8% of C-section patients experience significant pain, equating to 100,000 women annually in the U.S.

- Pain was more common with epidurals (13%) compared to spinals (4%), highlighting the risks of using labor epidurals for emergency C-sections.

- Descriptions of pain included words like searing, blinding, and vicious, underscoring the severity of the issue.

⚙️ Systemic and Communication Failures in the OR

- Power dynamics in operating rooms often prevent nurses or anesthesiologists from advocating for patients in pain.

- Patients, vulnerable and focused on their baby’s safety, may hesitate to speak up about their discomfort.

- Doctors admitted to being trained to expect some sensation during C-sections, which can lead to misjudging pain as normal pressure.

🔧 Solutions and the Path Forward

- Proposed solutions include replacing ineffective epidurals sooner, reducing the stigma around general anesthesia for C-sections, and improving pain management protocols.

- Communication-focused strategies, like regularly asking patients about their pain during surgery, are being implemented in some hospitals.

- Addressing societal expectations around childbirth pain is crucial to empowering women to advocate for themselves and ensuring their experiences are taken seriously.