When a pregnant woman has a c-section, is she able to be awake during a major surgery, and not under anesthesia. or am i missing something?

The safer way to: Perform an elective non-emergent c-section is by spinal anesthesia. The block will be place just before the surgery start. The obstetrician and anesthesiologist will check spinal is working well. Surgery will start and patient will be awake without feeling pain. Baby deliver and mother will see her baby with the husband at the operating room.

Yes: For a c-section the preferred mode of anesthesia is a spinal. In these cases a small amount of local anesthetic and opiate is injected next to the spinal cord. This results in the patient being numb from the chest down. This is preferred because it is safer than putting a pregnant woman to sleep and it allows the mother to immediately see her new child.