The Snapshot Obstetric National Anaesthesia Research project (SONAR)
27 March 2025
The Snapshot Obstetric National Anaesthesia Research project (SONAR) is an innovative national study set to begin data collection in March to May 2025. This important project is funded by the Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association (OAA) through a large project grant awarded by the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) and the NIHR Central London Patient Safety Research Collaboration.
Project Overview
SONAR aims to estimate the incidence of intraoperative pain during caesarean delivery under neuraxial anaesthesia. In addition, the project will assess the impact of this experience through patient-reported outcome measures collected at two key time points: 24 hours and 6 weeks postpartum.
The study involves collecting data from all patients undergoing caesarean delivery—regardless of category or indication—where neuraxial anaesthesia is the primary mode of anaesthesia at the time of delivery.
Data Collection
24 hours postpartum: Patients will complete a questionnaire reporting their pain scores and any intraoperative events.
6 weeks postpartum: Patients will be followed up via telephone to assess for postpartum depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
National Collaboration
This project is registered under the NIHR Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme and has received NIHR portfolio adoption, highlighting its significance in advancing obstetric anaesthesia research across the UK.
Get Involved
We invite obstetric units across the country to participate in this study. If you are interested in running the SONAR study at your unit or would like further details, please get in touch with our team. Together, we can make a difference in improving outcomes for mothers and their babies.
Team members
If you would like further details, please get in touch with our team at S.study@nhs.net
