Obstetric Anesthesia – Montefiore Medical Center – Bronx, New York City

Message from the Director, Shamantha Reddy, MD

Montefiore’s Division of Obstetric Anesthesiology has a long history of providing safe, compassionate care for women. Dr. Gertie Marx, the mother of obstetric anesthesiology, long credited for the development of our specialty, dedicated her life and career to caring for women at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She believed women had a right to pain relief in labor and worked tirelessly to bring neuraxial anesthesia to the labor floor. We strive to carry on the legacy of Dr. Gertie Marx and continue to advocate for the best care of mothers and their babies.

Specialized Care in High-Risk Obstetrics

Montefiore's 24-hour obstetric anesthesiologists are key members of the labor and delivery teams, providing anesthesia for cesarean deliveries and pain relief during labor and after surgery. Our obstetric anesthesiologists work across three of the Montefiore campuses – Wakefield and Weiler hospitals in the Bronx and St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in the Hudson Valley.

A designated Accreta Center, Montefiore provides a full range of obstetric and gynecological services including specialized care in high-risk obstetrics. Our physicians treat patients with medical conditions that could complicate pregnancy including heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, advanced maternal age, and multiple births. Our obstetric anesthesiologists work on a multidisciplinary patient safety team that also includes obstetricians, neonatalogists, nurses, a safety officer, and a nurse manager who actively monitor quality of care to ensure safety and optimal treatment plans.

Clinical Excellence

An essential part of the patient safety team, our obstetric anesthesiologists educate women about pain relief options during vaginal deliveries and cesarean sections. Our physicians take careful consideration to inform patients who have cardiac or pulmonary problems about the options and risks associated with different types of anesthesia. The anesthesia team is prepared to care for women with medical complications and works in concert with other specialists to ensure that the anesthetic plan is optimal. Our anesthesiologists focus on helping the patient achieve the type of pain relief that meets her particular circumstances through an individualized treatment plan.

Providing Patient-Centric Care

Our Obstetric Anesthesia team serves our diverse population of patients with the highest quality of care for the following procedures:

Analgesia for labor:

1. Lumbar epidural
2. Combined spinal-epidural
3. Dural puncture epidural
4. IV analgesia in selective cases

Anesthesia for operative procedures:

1. Cesarean section
2. Bilateral tubal ligation
3. Cerclage placement
4. External cephalic version
5. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome laser ablation treatment
6. Examination under anesthesia, manual extraction of placenta

Education and Training

Obstetric anesthesiology continues to evolve with the latest technologies and treatments, and our team of obstetric anesthesiologists are committed to continuing to learn the latest pain relief methods. Dr. Reddy and her team are active members of national and international medical organizations such as NYSSA, ASA, IARS, SEA and SOAP. Our division is also focused on training the next generation of obstetric anesthesiologists through our Obstetric Anesthesia Fellowship, a one-year fellowship that provides extensive training on managing high-risk obstetric patients.

Meet the Obstetric Anesthesiology team.