[Delivery by cesarean section under general anesthesia and the neurobehavioral assessment of the newborn infant].

The problem of the effects on newborns of the anaesthetics administered to the mother has been reviewed. For research purposes Pentothal, widely used for induction in Caesarean section was considered. In spite of the presence of fair quantities of this drug, as demonstrated by foetal blood withdrawn from the umbilical cord, the newborns examined and submitted to painstaking neuro-behavioral assessment using Brazelton's method, did not show any signs of neurological impairment nor diversity in behaviour compared to a control group.