• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
  • About Us
    • Chair's Welcome
    • In the News
    • Our Expert Team
    • Our E-Magazine, Open Circuit
    • Our Class Yearbook
    • For Alumni
    • Academic Positions
    • Quality and Innovation
    • Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
    • Wellness Initiative
    • Community Outreach
    • Global Healthcare Initiatives
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
    • Giving
  • Our Specialties
    • Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesiology
    • Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
    • Critical Care Anesthesiology
    • Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
    • Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
    • Nurse Anesthesia
    • Obstetric Anesthesiology
    • Ophthalmologic Anesthesiology
    • Pain Medicine
    • Pediatric Anesthesiology
    • Perioperative Medicine
    • Thoracic Anesthesiology
    • Vascular Anesthesiology
    • UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center
  • For Patients & Families
    • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
    • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
    • Types of Anesthesia
    • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Which Medications Should I Take?
    • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
    • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
    • Enhancing Your Recovery
    • Pain Relief After Surgery
    • Using Opioids Safely
    • Anesthesia and Child Development
    • Quality and Innovation
    • We're Listening!
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
  • Education
    • Residency Program
    • Fellowship Programs
    • Medical Students
    • MOCA Simulation Course
    • UCLA Simulation Center
    • ASA Annual Meeting
    • UCLA Annual Scientific Evening
    • Grand Rounds
    • Visiting Professor Program
    • CME Programs
  • Research
  • For Referring Physicians
    • Risk Stratification
    • Requesting In-Person Preoperative Consultation at PEPC
    • Requesting Preoperative Telephone Screening
    • UCLA Requirements for the Preoperative History and Physical Examination
    • Criteria for Outpatient Venues
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Laboratory Testing
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Cardiac and Pulmonary Testing
    • NPO Guidelines
    • What Medications Should Patients Take Before Surgery?
    • Requesting a Pre-Surgical Pain Medicine Consultation
    • Referring a Patient For Chronic Pain Consultation and Management
  • Our Physicians
    • Faculty Physicians
    • Attending Physicians
    • Basic Science Faculty
    • Affiliate Faculty
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

For Patients & Families

For Patients & Families

For Patients & Families

  • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
  • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
  • Types of Anesthesia
  • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Which Medications Should I Take?
  • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
  • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
  • Enhancing Your Recovery
  • Pain Relief After Surgery
  • Using Opioids Safely
  • Anesthesia and Child Development
  • Quality and Innovation
  • We're Listening!
  • Contact Us
  • Maps & Directions
  • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
  • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
  • Types of Anesthesia
  • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Which Medications Should I Take?
  • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
  • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
  • Enhancing Your Recovery
  • Pain Relief After Surgery
  • Using Opioids Safely
  • Anesthesia and Child Development
  • Quality and Innovation
  • We're Listening!
  • Contact Us
  • Maps & Directions
  1. Home
  2. For Patients & Families
  3. Anesthesia and Child Development

Anesthesia and Child Development

Share this
Anesthesia and Child Development, UCLA

Even healthy children sometimes need surgery or other procedures that would not be possible without the use of sedatives and anesthesia medications that induce sleep and block pain. Medications for sedation and anesthesia are given to millions of children every year to ensure their health, safety, and comfort during surgery and other procedures for diagnosis or treatment.

Some research suggests that repeated or prolonged use of general anesthetics or sedative medications in young animals and children may affect the developing brain. These effects are subtle, and may include learning, memory, or behavior problems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that children under 3 years of age who receive anesthesia for more than 3 hours, or who need anesthesia on multiple occasions, are more likely to be affected.

Fortunately, recent studies indicate that a single brief exposure to general anesthesia or sedation is unlikely to affect behavior or learning, even in children less than 3 years old. No specific anesthetic or sedative medication has been shown to be safer than any other. A 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Pediatrics looked at sibling pairs. Children who had surgical procedures that require general anesthesia before primary school entry were not found to be at increased risk of problems with development compared with their biological siblings who did not have surgery or anesthesia. 

Anesthetic and sedative medications are necessary for infants and children who require surgery or other painful or stressful procedures. The experience of pain, if it is not treated, may be harmful to children and their developing nervous systems.

If surgery or any procedure is recommended for your child, ask for information including how long the procedure will take, and the possible need for any repeated procedures.

Parents should consider the possible effects of anesthesia on brain development, and consider whether surgery could safely be delayed until the child is older. The decision should be discussed with the child’s pediatrician, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and any other physician involved in the recommendation to have the procedure.

Life-threatening problems with the heart, lungs, or digestive system, for example, may require immediate surgery and should never be delayed.

But there are other common reasons why children sometimes need surgery. Though the problem -- such as crossed eyes, or chronic ear infections -- may not seem serious, it may be important not to delay surgery. 

If you have any additional questions regarding anesthesia for your child, please email us at: [email protected]

Other helpful resources:

  • The SmartTots Collaborative, an organization working to make anesthesia safer for infants and children
  • UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • US Food and Drug Administration
  • Consensus Statement on Anesthesia and Brain Development
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation's best in U.S. News survey
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-800-UCLA-MD1
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth