Medico-legal issues in obstetric anesthesia: what does an obstetrician need to know?

Background Obstetric anesthesia has become a recognized subspecialty of anesthesiology and an integral part of practice of most anesthesiologists. Perhaps no other subspecialty of anesthesiology provides more personal gratification and clinical challenges than the practice of obstetric anesthesia. However, in addition to clinical challenges obstetric anesthesia is laden with medico-legal liability. Objective This review article attempts to highlight the influence of the current medico-legal climate on the practice of obstetric anesthesia. Methods All articles relevant to the subject of this investigation were retrieved from a Medline search. Results Obstetric anesthesiologists are frequently named (besides obstetricians) in claims involving bad neonatal outcomes. Obstetric anesthesia is also the most common subspecialty of practice to be ceased due to medico-legal concerns. Conclusions Good perioperative evaluation of all patients, detailed review of patient's medical records, and constant vigilance can decrease the incidence of complications and subsequently medico-legal issues.