C-Section Anesthesia: General vs. Epidural & Spinal - Pros & Cons

Question
Iam 29 yrs old, it's my first pregnancy, now it's week 31.
I live in South Korea, where OB/GYN practices seem to be different from the West.
I am having a planned C-section. When I asked my doctor which anestesia he prefers with a c-Section, I was surprised to hear that he prefers general over epidural or spinal.According to him, it has less complications, than epidurals and spinals.Can you please somprehensively explain pros and cons of each of the anestesias? And also how is general anestesia administered with C-sections (my doctor said it's different than with another surgeries, since C-section is relatively short)?
Thank you in advance!

Answer
If this is your first pregnancy, why are you planning on having a cesarean section? We usually do not plan to deliver by cesarean section unless there is a strong indication to have one. General anesthesia is rarely done, nowadays, for cesarean section because if you go to sleep, so does the baby, and this adds a time factor to the equation. Once the umbilical cord is cut, the baby is on its own. If it is depressed due to general anesthesia, it has a more difficult time breathing. We usually prefer regrional anesthesia (epidural or spinal anesthesia). With a spinal, the medication is introduced directly into the cerebrospinal space (into the dura). The effects are quicker but there is a chance of more side effects such as headache. In an epidural, the medication is introduced AROUND the spinal canal (epi-dura) and takes longer to take effect, but has less side effects. General anesthesia is usually given through the intravenous route and there are different medications that can be given, since the entire cesarean only takes around 45 minutes in it entirety. I would suggest an epidural.