Presence of the partner in the operating room during a category 1 cesarean section: a prospective explorative study

• Published in: International journal of obstetric anesthesia Vol. 57; p. 103939
• Main Authors: Nedergaard, H.K., Weitling, E.E., Rahbech, M., Frøslev-Friis, C., Quitzau, L.H., Strøm, T., Brøchner, A.C., Jensen, H.I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Category 1 cesarean section; General anesthesia; Partner presence; General anesthesia; Category 1 cesarean section; Partner presence
• ISSN: 0959-289X; 1532-3374
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2023.103939

•Presence of a partner during emergency cesarean with general anesthesia was studied.•Partners in the operating room expressed that they would not have been without it.•Mothers and staff also expressed positive opinions about the partner being present.•Partners at a different site, and not present, evaluated the experience positively.•No partners had post-traumatic stress three months after the cesarean section. Little information exists regarding attitudes related to the presence of the partner in the operation room (OR) during category 1 emergency cesarean section (cat. 1 CS). We investigated how cat. 1 CS under general anesthesia is experienced, both by partners present in the OR and those not. An explorative prospective cohort trial, with qualitative elements, involving all cat. 1 CS in 2022 in two hospitals. At site 1 the partner was present in the OR during cat. 1 CS, whereas at site 2 the partner was not. Parents and staff answered questionnaires following each cat. 1 CS and semi-structured interviews with partners were held three months after surgery. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The primary outcome was the partner’s answer to the question: “Would you have preferred not being present/being present in the OR?” respectively. Seventeen and eight cat. 1 CS occurred at each site respectively. All parents agreed to participate. No partners in site 1 would have preferred to wait outside, and all evaluated the experience very positively. Partners at site 2 also evaluated not being present positively. Overarching themes from the qualitative analysis were “Being the family witness” and “Experience of being the partner”. Mothers and staff from site 1 were very positive about their partners’ presence. Partners present in the OR during cat. 1 CS under general anesthesia evaluated this very positively. Most partners, who had not been present in the OR, also evaluated this positively. No partners had post-traumatic stress.