Thirty-two patients received lumbar extradural anaesthesia for elective Caesarean section. The results obtained from this series were compared with those from a similar (control) group of parturients who received general anaesthesia. The extradural group (mothers and infants) were metabolically acidaemic relative to control. However, maternal to fetal blood-gas differences were comparable in the two series. Infants sustained respiration more rapidly after regional blockade, otherwise the clinical condition of the infants was similar with extradural and general anaesthesia. No advantage of conduction over general anaesthesia was evident from this study, with respect to the biochemical status of the infant at birth.