[Physiological changes during pregnancy relevant to anesthesia].

Hormone production from the corpus luteum and the placenta as well as the mechanical effects of the growing uterus are the main reasons for the physiological changes of pregnancy. These have relevant effects particularly on the cardiovascular system, the respiratory tract and the gastrointestinal system as well as the kidneys and urinary tract. Elective procedures on women of childbearing age should only be performed when early pregnancy has been excluded as the effects of even the latest anaesthetics at the time of organogenesis may not be fully understood. The aim of close teamwork between midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists and anaesthetists should be to prevent any complications for the mother and to give the newborn the most optimal start in it's young life.