Cesarean delivery using an ERAS-CD process for nonopioid anesthesia and analgesia drug/medication management

Cesarean delivery (CD) is a surgical delivery of a neonate with surgical access through the maternal abdominal and uterine structures. The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol is a standardized perioperative care program and surgery quality improvement process that has had global spread across numerous surgical disciplines. The medical and surgical use of opioids for pain management and the nonmedical opioid use, over the last three decades, have significantly increased the prevalence of abuse and addiction to opioids. This review summarizes pain, pregnancy substance use, and ERAS-directed analgesia and anesthesia for opioid use reduction or elimination in the operative and postoperative periods. Enhanced recovery (quality and safety) in the surgical CD context requires collaboration, consensus, and appropriate clinical prioritization to allow for the identification of ‘the right patient, in the right clinical situation, with the right informed consent, and the right clinical care team and health system’.