The incidence of severe muscle pain following Caesarean section in 130 patients in which suxamethonium was used was 15.7 per cent. Gallamine 20 mg prior to induction did not reduce the incidence of pain but resulted in technical difficulty which reduced the safety and effectiveness of the anaesthetic technique. It was concluded that the incidence of pains was not high enough to justify discarding the anaesthetic technique described. The use of non-depolarizing relaxants prior to induction as a method of reducing the incidence of pains following suxamethonium should be avoided in obstetric anaesthesia.