[Obstetric anesthesia-analgesia in Spain. A review of its historic evolution during the second half of the past century].

To examine the historical development of obstetric anesthesia in Spain during the second half of the nineteenth century. Research was based on in-depth analysis of accounts of anesthesia during the period covered, mainly from original sources, using established methods for studying the history of medicine. We collected a great deal of documentary evidence, much of it unpublished and of clear historical value for tracing the history of obstetric anesthesia in Spain and identifying the main factors that have influenced it. We emphasize that controversy limited to a large extent the use of anesthesia in obstetrics. The controversy seems to have been fed by physicians' uneasiness with anesthesia as well as by certain prejudices of a religious or moral nature that are deeply rooted in Spanish society.