SONAR Qual - Sprint Obstetric National Anaesthesia Research project - 1: qualitative study of women's experience of Caesaerean delivery under regional anaesthesia

This study will interview women about their experiences of pain relief during caesarean section, focusing on when spinal or epidural anaesthetic (known as neuraxial anaesthesia) works well and when it does not.

The study will build on an existing project (SONAR-1) by including women in three groups:
 

• those who did not feel pain during their operation,

• those who felt pain but had no ongoing problems six weeks later,

• those who felt pain and did have ongoing problems six weeks later.

We will make sure to include women from groups that often face inequalities in maternity care, such as those from ethnic minority backgrounds, women whose first language is not English, and women with mental health conditions during pregnancy.

The findings will improve our understanding of women’s experiences when pain relief during caesarean section is inadequate, and the short- and longer-term impacts of this. The study will also explore factors that might help prevent or reduce these negative experiences in the future.