The 2025 Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology Gerard W. Ostheimer lecture: a focused review on the studies that will impact obstetric anesthesia practice.

The Gerard W. Ostheimer lecture is presented each year at the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology annual meeting and highlights new research relevant to the practice of obstetric anesthesiology. This focused review of the lecture summarizes 13 selected studies published in 2024, and discussed in the 2025 Ostheimer lecture, that are most likely to influence obstetric anesthesia practice. Key topics include cardiac arrest in pregnancy; pain during cesarean delivery; dural puncture epidural technique for labor analgesia; postdural puncture headache management; guidelines for continuous intrathecal labor analgesia following an unintentional dural puncture; intravenous calcium chloride, optimizing oxytocin dosing strategies, second-line uterotonic selection, and intravenous tranexamic acid for postpartum hemorrhage; video laryngoscopy for neonatal intubation; and reconsideration of anesthetic approaches for postpartum tubal ligation. The results of these studies offer practical findings that may help anesthesiologists deliver safer and more effective, patient-centered care.