Common phenomena of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean sections are hypotension and cardiovascular depression, both of which require immediate action. Akrinor® (theodrenaline and cafedrine), a sympathomimetic agent commonly used in Germany for such cases, was phased out with little notice at the end of 2005. Phenylephrine was not and is not an approved drug. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding arterial umbilical blood pH or Apgar scores. Despite treatment, prolonged hypotension (>10 minutes) occurred in both groups (group A: n=10; group NE: n=12). The neonatal arterial blood pH did not show any significant difference between the two groups. Two patients in group A, none in group NE, suffered from clinically relevant tachycardia (>50% increase of baseline). Our results thus suggest that norepinephrine is a safe vasopressor suitable for the treatment of peripartal hypotension without any risk of neonatal acidosis in elective caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia.