Throughout the operation your anaesthetist will be keeping a watchful eye on your breathing and the action on your heart using the monitors. He or she will see that the level of anaesthesia is kept just as deep as is necessary, that you are not feeling pain and that you are sufficiently relaxed for the surgeon to perform his task.

He will also be mindful of the shifts of your internal body fluids that occur during surgery and will ensure that you receive the correct amount of intravenous fluids. Should there be blood loss sufficient for you to be in danger of undue anaemia, blood may be administered. Your anaesthetist will remain with you throughout and will not leave the theatre.

This form of anaesthesia has a number of excellent advantages. Firstly your brain and heart are not affected to any extent so that you remain awake and there is very little danger of the strength of your heartbeat being diminished. When a Caesarean Section is done in this way the mother can hold and appreciate her baby within minutes of delivery, so that a strong bond is formed between the two.

Secondly, the effect on the nerve fibres that conduct pain and touch is greater than that on those which affect movement, so that during labour for example, the pain of the contractions can be controlled but the mother can still move about.

Thirdly, the duration of analgesia is long-lasting so that no other drugs are necessary for pain relief for up to many hours after the operation, thus avoiding the side effects of drugs such as morphine, which has the side effects of drowsiness and nausea.

If the muscle relaxant scoline has been used this may cause you to have generalised aches and pains in your muscles for two to three days. This drug is not used routinely and is saved for special situations when the anaesthetist needs to intubate very quickly.

These pains, called scoline pains, are more prevalent in very muscular and fit patients.

One of the risks of an anaesthetic is that stomach contents can be regurgitated or that there may be vomiting, and you lungs will be contaminated with stomach contents. This can have very serious consequences. For this reason your anaesthetist will instruct you not to take any fluid for at least two hours or solid food for four to six hours before your operation.

If your operation is been carried out as an emergency and there is not time to allow your stomach to empty, your anaesthetist has to use special techniques to minimise the risk of aspiration, as it is called. But it is always best to keep risks to an absolute minimum, and pre-operative starvation is the best way to do this.