Founded in 1968, the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) will be celebrating its 45th annual meeting this spring in Puerto Rico. Originally started as a way to provide like-minded individuals “a forum for discussion of problems unique to the peripartum period,” SOAP has grown in both size and purpose. Our mission statement envisions some lofty goals: “… to improve the pregnancy-related outcomes of women and neonates through the support of obstetric anesthesiology research, the provision of education to its members, other providers, and pregnant women, and the promotion of excellence in clinical anesthetic care.” Lofty though these goals may be, SOAP is achieving just that.
Staying true to our original statement of purpose, SOAP’s annual meeting program has always devoted significant time for individuals to present new or ongoing research for audience comment. As the meeting attendance grew and more submissions appeared from one year to the next,...
