Obstetric Division

The obstetric anesthesia team is committed to excellent patient care, resident education, research, and collegiality.  Women delivering at UNC can expect professional and efficient anesthesia care and labor-pain management around the clock.  A team approach is critical in the constantly changing labor and delivery environment and we have an outstanding relationship with our OB/GYN colleagues, as well as the midwives, family medicine physicians, and labor nurses.   Our patient population includes a wide array of patient-types.  In addition to  low-risk  pregnancies, our patient mix includes numerous high-risk women, including those with  cardiac disease,  peripartum bleeding issues, and morbid obesity.  

The educational needs of our anesthesiology residents and medical students are met by delivering anesthetic care to the 3,800 women that deliver at North Carolina Women's Hospital each year.  About 60% of the patients utilize epidural analgesia for pain management.  Approximately 90% of the cesarean deliveries at UNC are performed under spinal, epidural, or combined spinal-epidural anesthesia.  UNC is a referral center for complicated obstetric patients for the state of North Carolina and some parts of Virginia. Currently we do not offer an obstetric anesthesia fellowship.  North Carolina Women's Hospital opened in 2002 and the labor and delivery facilities are state of the art.  There are 15 labor-delivery rooms and an operating suite of three fully equipped operating rooms.  A level III NICU is just down the hall.  We have an extensive history of collaborative research projects with our colleagues in the OB/GYN department.

Dr. David Mayer and Dr. Kathleen Smith are the co-directors of the division of obstetric anesthesiology where all four faculty members have undergone specialized training in delivering anesthesia for pregnant women.