Neonatal Outcomes of Spinal Versus General Anesthesia among Women Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section in Erbil City

Background and aims: General anesthesia and spinal anesthesia are the primary anesthetic techniques for cesarean deliveries. Both the mother and the fetus are affected by each of these anesthestics. Due to its safety profile and advantages for both mother and fetus, the choice of anesthetic procedures for cesarean birth may occasionally depend on the mother’s or doctor’s request. This study compared how general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia affected newborn outcomes during cesarean delivery. Methods: A quantitative comparative study on 200 Kurdish women who were undergoing a cesarean section with a spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia preference for mothers or physician was included in a purposive sample carried out in the operating theatre at Maternity Teaching Hospital from 2021 to 2023. The assessment of newborn outcomes related to weight, APGAR score, well and alive status or immediate admission to intensive care unit was done using a questionnaire method. The data interpretation, the statistical program for social science SPSS (version 26), frequency and percentages, mean and standard division was used. For determining the acceptance rate of participants, chi-square test and independent sample t-test with p-value were employed. Results: the study shows that the most (54%, 44%) of the participants in both groups general and spinal anesthesia were in the age group 20–29 years old, and 35%, 44% were in the group 30-39 years old respectively. 25% of the general anesthesia group held a primary school degree and 30% of the spinal anesthesia group held an institute or university degree. 65% and 45% of the participants in both were in multi-gravity respectively. 87% and 53% responded that the decision to choose types of anesthesia was made by the Physician's request for both groups. A statistically significant difference between both groups general and spinal anesthesia regarding newborn APGAR score in the first and ......