Enhanced recovery after surgery in obstetric patients – Are we ready?

© 2020 Journal of Obstetric Anaesthesia and Critical Care | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) for various surgical procedures has been embraced by many developed countries. Obstetric surgeons and anaesthesiologists are not far behind. However, a lot needs to be ensured before the developing countries like India can follow the developed nation. ERAS protocols were first published for colorectal surgeries by Henrik Kehlet in 1997.[1] Later, these protocols have been modified and have proliferated across different specialities which include bariatric, breast, plastic, cardiac, colorectal, oesophageal, head and neck, hepatic, gynaecologic oncology, neurosurgical, orthopaedic, pancreatic, thoracic and urologic surgery.[2‐7] However, fast track adoption in obstetric surgeries is a less travelled ground. Recently, in August 2019, the guidelines for perioperative care in caesarean delivery (ERAS society) recommendations have been published.[8] But its applicability in developing countries like India, especially in a low resource setting, is itself a challenge.