“I Felt My C-Section”: Pain During a Caesarean, Not Being Believed, and What Should Happen

After a traumatic caesarean · Part 3 · 15 min read · Published 1 November 2026 · Reviewed 1 November 2026 · Next review May 2027

By Dr Rosemary Listing, PhD (Law) · Medical negligence lawyer since 2013 · Of Counsel, Peter Evans & Associates

If this sounds like you, the first thing to know is that you are not the only one, and you did not imagine it. The second is that what happened next, whether you were believed and what was done, matters as much as the pain itself. This article is Part 3 of a series; the series guide to c-section trauma covers the wider picture.

Why I can write this

I have been a medical negligence lawyer since 2013 and have worked on many hundreds of claims, many of them involving birth. Anaesthetic records are among the documents I read most closely in a caesarean file. My doctorate looked at patterns of failure in medical negligence. I'm not medically qualified. The clinical information here is checked against published anaesthetic guidance and Australian health sources, all listed at the end. The law differs between states, and where it matters, I say so.

Start with your question

• “Is it normal to feel pain during a c-section?” → How common it is
• “They said it was just pressure.” → Pressure or pain? and what should happen when you say it hurts
• “Should they have put me to sleep?” → Offering a general anaesthetic
• “How do I find out what was done?” → What your records can show
• “I can't stop reliving it.” → PTSD, flashbacks and getting help
• “I'm scared it will happen again.” → Pregnancy after a traumatic c-section

How common is pain during a caesarean?

More common than most women are told. A 2025 systematic review of 34 studies, published in Anesthesiology, found that around 17% of women reported pain during a caesarean under a spinal or epidural. The rate was highest, about one in three, when an epidural used in labour was topped up for the operation.

Not all of that pain is severe, and not all of it means anything went wrong. But it does mean that “you can't possibly feel that” is not a safe assumption. UK anaesthetic guidance published in Anaesthesia in 2022 noted that claims about pain during caesarean under neuraxial anaesthesia had become the most common successful claims against obstetric anaesthetists in the UK, and that women who feel pain during surgery are at risk of lasting psychological harm.

Before: what you should be told

A spinal is commonly used for a planned caesarean. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists' patient information explains that a general anaesthetic is uncommon, and lists the reasons it may be used: an emergency without time for a spinal or epidural, the woman's own preference, or a block that fails.

Consent is not just a signature. RANZCOG's statement on consent says patients are entitled to information about their care, and describes informed consent as being told the benefits, risks and alternatives of a treatment. The 2022 guidance in Anaesthesia recommends that, before a caesarean under a spinal or epidural, women are told how the block will be tested, what they should expect to feel, that pain is possible, and what can be done about it, including a general anaesthetic. The American Society of Anesthesiologists' 2023 statement similarly suggests discussing the possibility of pain, and preferences about a general anaesthetic, beforehand where possible.

In an emergency there may be very little time for any of this. That's covered in “I Felt Pushed Into It”. But even then, you should be told what is happening.

Testing the block: before the first cut

Before surgery starts, the anaesthetist should check how high and how dense your numbness is. Common tests use cold (an ice cube or cold spray) and light touch, and check whether you can lift your legs.

The 2022 guidance recommends light touch as the main test, aiming for loss of touch sensation to about the level of the nipples (called T5) on both sides, with a second type of test if the level is uncertain. It also recommends checking the lower limit and testing leg strength. The point is simple: a block that is patchy, one-sided or too low is more likely to let pain through.

If you told someone you could still feel the cold, or feel it more on one side, that is exactly the kind of thing the testing is meant to pick up. Whether it was written down, and what was done about it, is one of the first things to look for in your records.

During: pressure or pain?

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby explains that during a caesarean you can expect tugging and pulling, but that you should not feel pain. Many women describe deep pressure when the baby is lifted out, like someone pushing hard on their chest or rummaging inside a handbag. That can be unpleasant and frightening, but it is not the same as sharp, burning or tearing pain.

The problem is that only you can feel the difference, and you are the person in the room least likely to be believed. “That's just pressure” is one of the most common phrases women repeat to me, and one of the most damaging when it isn't true.

“It hurts”: what should happen next

The guidance is consistent here. When a woman says she is in pain during a caesarean, the team should:

• Believe her. The American Society of Anesthesiologists' statement says that an expression of pain by the patient “is valid and warrants a discussion regarding next steps”.
• Pause if it is safe. The 2022 guidance recommends asking the surgeon to stop, where that is safe, while the pain is dealt with.
• Treat it quickly. Usually with fast-acting pain relief through the drip, or more local anaesthetic through an epidural catheter if there is one.
• Offer a general anaesthetic. If you ask to be put to sleep, the 2022 guidance says that request should be honoured where possible, and a general anaesthetic should be recommended if effective pain relief is unlikely any other way. If that happened to you and you missed the birth, see I Don't Remember My Baby's Birth.
• Keep talking to you. Tell you what is happening and what they are doing about it.

Timing can be hard. Converting to a general anaesthetic just before birth has its own risks, and the right choice depends on the stage of surgery and on you and your baby. But those are decisions to make with you, not around you. Pressing on while you say it hurts, or telling you it isn't possible, is a different thing.

A regulator's view

In New Zealand, the Health and Disability Commissioner investigated a case in which a woman felt cold on the ice test before an emergency caesarean, then felt pain during surgery and was told it was “only pressure”. The Commissioner found that the anaesthetist failed to ensure adequate anaesthesia before surgery started and that the response to her pain fell below accepted standards, and that the obstetrician should not have continued once she realised the woman was in pain. New Zealand's system is different from Australia's, but the clinical standards it describes are widely shared.

Afterwards: what should happen

Feeling pain during a caesarean should be followed up, not forgotten. The 2022 guidance recommends that a senior anaesthetist sees any woman who felt pain before she goes home, and that her GP is told. RANZCOG's guideline on birth after caesarean also suggests a debrief, spoken and written, after an unplanned caesarean, with referral if there are concerns about psychological wellbeing.

Many women tell me no one came. If that happened to you, you can still ask: see how to request a birth debrief. An honest conversation with the anaesthetic department can be the moment things start to make sense. If you are struggling with flashbacks or nightmares, the Centre of Perinatal Excellence lists effective treatments, and your GP can refer you.

What your records can show

Ask for the complete file, including the anaesthetic chart. My guide to getting and reading your birth records explains how, and getting your medical records in Australia covers each state's rules. These are the parts that usually matter most when you felt your caesarean.

The absence of a note can matter as much as its presence. If you remember saying it hurt and the chart is silent, write down what you remember now, with times if you can. Your account is evidence too.

How the law looks at it

Pain during a caesarean is not, by itself, proof of negligence. Blocks sometimes fail even when everything is done well. The legal questions are about what the team did.

Standard of care. The question is whether the anaesthetic care, including testing the block and responding to pain, was widely accepted as competent practice by peers in Australia at the time. In NSW this is tested under section 5O of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), and most other states have a similar rule. Guidance like the 2022 recommendations is evidence of good practice, but not the law itself.

Consent and warnings. In Rogers v Whitaker [1992] HCA 58, the High Court held that doctors must warn of material risks: risks a reasonable person in your position would think significant, or that the doctor knew, or should have known, you would. Given how common pain under neuraxial anaesthesia is, whether you were told about it, and about a general anaesthetic, can matter.

Causation and harm. A claim also needs to show that the shortfall caused harm, such as the pain itself and any psychological injury that followed. Compensation for psychological harm usually requires a diagnosed condition, such as PTSD, and the detailed rules differ between states.

Time limits. These apply, and they vary. See time limits and what a claim can cover. If you'd rather start with a complaint, complaint or claim? explains the difference, and how a claim works sets out the steps.

In my practice

In these files, the turning point is rarely the pain alone. It's the moment a woman says “I can feel that”, and the room decides she can't. Sometimes the records show a test that was rushed, or a level recorded that doesn't match what she remembers saying. Sometimes there is a drug given at the worst moment with no note of why. Often there is no follow-up at all, so she leaves hospital believing she overreacted. The pattern I see is not usually one person's cruelty. It's a culture where “just pressure” is the default answer. Part of my job is to separate what was unavoidable from what wasn't.

Both things can be true

You can be grateful for your baby and for the people who delivered her, and still have been harmed by not being believed. The team may have been skilled and kind in many ways, and still got this wrong. Saying so isn't ingratitude. It's the truth of what happened to you, and it's how practice changes.

The bigger picture

Anaesthetists are increasingly recognising that pain during caesarean is under-reported and under-treated. The 2022 guidance was developed with psychologists and women who had been through it, and it puts as much weight on communication as on technique. The American statement in 2023 made similar points. In Australia, the NSW Parliament's inquiry into birth trauma heard from many women who felt they weren't listened to during birth. Believing women when they say it hurts costs nothing, and it is one of the simplest ways to prevent lasting harm.

Support

• PANDA National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline: 1300 726 306, for mothers and partners.
• Gidget Foundation Australia: 1300 851 758, free psychological support for expectant and new parents.
• Birth Trauma Australia: peer support and information after a caesarean.
• Pregnancy, Birth and Baby: 1800 882 436, to speak with a maternal child health nurse.
• Lifeline: 13 11 14, 24 hours, if you are in crisis. In an emergency, call 000.
• Our guide to free and low-cost support after birth trauma.

The woman in the stories has a letter now, from the anaesthetic department, that sets out what should happen if she has another caesarean: a longer check of the block, a plan for a general anaesthetic if she asks, and a promise that someone will listen. She hasn't decided about another baby. But if she does, she'll walk in with that letter in her bag.

With care,
Rosemary