Tiffany Tran

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1 Period Click
Article Title: Supine Horizontal Position for Cesarean Delivery Is Fine

Date: February 2, 2017

Summary:
For cesarean deliveries, the current recommendation for positioning the mother is a 15-degree
left lateral tilt. However, study finds that the supine position does not have much of a difference
compared to the left lateral tilt position. Traditionally, the lateral left tilt position is used in C-
sections because it is believed that the supine position impairs the neonatal acid-base status
compared to the tilt position. It is also believed that the position reduces compression of the
inferior vena cava. The study consisted of 100 healthy women with a single-fetus pregnancy for
testing. Randomly, 50 women underwent their C-section in the 15-degree left lateral lift and the
other 50 had their surgery in the supine position. The blood pressures of the mothers were more
controlled and their cardiac output was slightly reduced when they were operated on in the
supine position. In 6 cases, the surgeons could not operate on the patient when they were tilted
and were put into supine. The study also suggests that the supine position may be more beneficial
because it is more convenient for the surgeons to skip a step and the patients do not have to be in
an uncomfortable position while having a C-section.

Connection to Essential Question:

My topic is about positions and how they affect anesthesia along with how they affect the body.
And the article is about how performing a C-section in supine doesnt differ much from doing
the same in a tilted position. The article talks about this as Dr. Allison J. Lee, MD, assistant
professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, stated that we feel that if
the mothers blood pressure is controlled and kept at baseline levels, theres probably no value in
tilting women. My topic relates to the article because they are both about how different surgical
positions affect a surgery, patient or surgery team. So the point is, were not doing it anyway;
the patients dont love to be tilted; and the surgeons hate it. So, why bother? My topic also
includes when a certain position should be used and its benefits and disadvantages. We found
that in six cases where the patient was tilted, the surgeons actually couldnt
operate, and we had to put them supine.

Personal Response:
 Tiffany Tran
st
1 Period Click
At my most recent mentorship, I saw a C-section, so this article intrigued me. The
article did not evoke any strong emotion because there is not really anything to be
emotional about. The article is about clinical results to disprove a dogma in
anesthesia. I thought that it was pretty interesting because the article made it
sound like C-sections were meant to be performed under a left lateral tilt. The C-
section that I watched was in supine position, so I was a little surprised. When they
stated that that the books all say 15 degrees. However, they did state that in
reality, we know that most women who undergo cesarean delivery are not being
tilted at 15 degrees. These results reassured me because I was slightly confused as
to why the C-section I observed wasnt done tilted.

MLA Citation:
Vlessides, Michael. "Supine Horizontal Position for Cesarean Delivery Is Fine."
Anesthesia News. McMahon Publishing, 2 Feb. 2017. Web. 7 Feb. 2017.