• H K Nedergaard, E E Weitling, M Rahbech, C Frøslev-Friis, L H Quitzau, T Strøm, A C Brøchner, and H I Jensen.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark; Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. Electronic address: helene.korvenius.nedergaard@rsyd.dk.
• Int J Obstet Anesth. 2024 Feb 1; 57: 103939103939.

BackgroundLittle information exists regarding attitudes related to the presence of the partner in the operation room (OR) during category 1 emergency cesarean section (cat. 1 CS). We investigated how cat. 1 CS under general anesthesia is experienced, both by partners present in the OR and those not.MethodsAn explorative prospective cohort trial, with qualitative elements, involving all cat. 1 CS in 2022 in two hospitals. At site 1 the partner was present in the OR during cat. 1 CS, whereas at site 2 the partner was not. Parents and staff answered questionnaires following each cat. 1 CS and semi-structured interviews with partners were held three months after surgery. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The primary outcome was the partner's answer to the question: "Would you have preferred not being present/being present in the OR?" respectively.ResultsSeventeen and eight cat. 1 CS occurred at each site respectively. All parents agreed to participate. No partners in site 1 would have preferred to wait outside, and all evaluated the experience very positively. Partners at site 2 also evaluated not being present positively. Overarching themes from the qualitative analysis were "Being the family witness" and "Experience of being the partner". Mothers and staff from site 1 were very positive about their partners' presence.ConclusionPartners present in the OR during cat. 1 CS under general anesthesia evaluated this very positively. Most partners, who had not been present in the OR, also evaluated this positively. No partners had post-traumatic stress.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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