Obstetric Anesthesiology
The Division of Obstetric Anesthesiology provides dedicated, 24-hour, in-house obstetric anesthesia care for over 4,500 deliveries at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) annually—over half of the deliveries are considered high risk. The division provides a full complement of techniques for labor analgesia and operative deliveries. The faculty are consultants and critical care specialists for high-risk obstetric patients, as well as for abnormal placentation cases and intrauterine fetal surgery. The division performs anesthesia services for gynecological surgeries in a suite of three operating rooms adjacent to the labor and delivery unit. The division faculty also assume leadership roles in quality initiatives to improve maternal health, including the use of multidisciplinary simulation training for obstetric emergencies.
The division works collaboratively with other medical specialties to ensure women in the perioperative period have optimal outcomes. The division collaborates with the VUMC maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) group in caring for mothers with congenital heart defects and other co-morbidities. The obstetric anesthesiologists work with the MFM, gynecologic oncology, urology and emergency general surgery physicians in an innovative approach to the care of patients with abnormal placentation. In conjunction with the department’s perioperative consult service, division faculty and staff provide anesthesia care using multimodal, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols for gynecologic cases and cesarean deliveries.
The division sponsors a highly regarded, ACGME-accredited obstetric anesthesia fellowship led by experienced Fellowship Director Jeanette Bauchat, MD, MS, and Associate Fellowship Director Holly Ende, MD. Click here to learn more.
Recent clinical research projects include an award-winning research project using customized opioid prescription practices to reduce overall use and excess opioid tablet availability after cesarean delivery. Ongoing research investigations include the genomics of uterine atony, respiratory depression in pre-eclampsia and patient-centered outcomes following postpartum hemorrhage.