title: Pharmacological considerations during pregnancy.
abstract: We present a brief overview of recent literature concerning some of the drugs used in pregnancy, labour and delivery. Obstetric anaesthesia continues to evolve through the reuse of old drugs such as magnesium sulphate or the manipulation of current drugs (e.g. propofol for emesis) in order to improve patient outcome. Pregnant women have traditionally been therapeutic orphans. The use of new agents such as levobupivacaine and ropivacaine in obstetric patients lags behind that of their non-pregnant counterparts. However, this gap is decreasing and these new drugs offer benefits to the parturient woman.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Academisch Ziekenhuis Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bos