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

Around one in four women who have a caesarean section under regional anaesthesia feel pain during the procedure, yet their experiences are rarely heard in detail. This study will interview women who had a caesarean under spinal or epidural anaesthesia, focusing on those who felt pain and those who did not, to understand what adequate and inadequate pain relief actually feels like for the patient. The researchers will deliberately include women from ethnic minorities, those whose first language is not English, and those with antenatal mental health problems—groups known to receive poorer maternity care. The goal is to capture what happens in the weeks after a painful caesarean, and to identify patient factors that might prevent or lessen the impact of inadequate anaesthesia. If successful, the findings could change how anaesthetists assess and communicate with women during caesareans, and help design better pain management protocols that account for individual differences. This is a qualitative study, so it will not produce a new drug or device—but it could reshape clinical practice by giving voice to patients whose experiences are currently overlooked.