Effect of initial anesthetic technique on fetal cord blood gas pH for cesarean deliveries performed for the indication of fetal heart rate abnormalities.

Background: We hypothesized that parturients who had general anesthesia as the initial anesthetic technique for cesarean deliveries performed for fetal heart rate abnormalities would have a lower fetal cord blood gas pH compared to parturients who had regional anesthesia as the initial anesthetic technique.

Methods: We searched our electronic medical record for patients who had cesarean deliveries for the indication of fetal heart rate abnormalities from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021, at our hospital. An obstetrics resident and a maternal fetal medicine physician determined if the fetal heart tracing was category 2 or 3.