diff --git a/core/api/middleware/database_connection_middleware.py b/core/api/middleware/database_connection_middleware.py
index 8d179ce..88a00b0 100644
--- a/core/api/middleware/database_connection_middleware.py
+++ b/core/api/middleware/database_connection_middleware.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ def __init__(self, app: ASGIApp, database: Database) -> None:
         super().__init__(app=app)
         self.database = database
 
+    # NOTE(krishan711): see note in database.py about why this can cause problems with concurrent operations
     async def dispatch(self, request: Request, call_next: RequestResponseEndpoint) -> Response:
         # NOTE(krishan711): hack to prevent running this for streaming endpoints because streaming
         # endpoints return a response with a generator inside it so this middleware wouldn't work
diff --git a/core/store/database.py b/core/store/database.py
index 42242b4..29f2365 100644
--- a/core/store/database.py
+++ b/core/store/database.py
@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@
 from collections.abc import AsyncIterator
 from typing import TypeVar
 
+import sqlalchemy
 from sqlalchemy.engine import Result
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncConnection
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncEngine
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
 from sqlalchemy.sql.selectable import TypedReturnsRows
 
+from core import logging
 from core.exceptions import InternalServerErrorException
 
 DatabaseConnection = AsyncConnection
@@ -34,9 +36,16 @@ def __init__(self, connectionString: str) -> None:
         self._engine: AsyncEngine | None = None
         self._connectionContext = contextvars.ContextVar[DatabaseConnection | None]('_connectionContext')
 
-    async def connect(self) -> None:
+    async def connect(self, poolSize: int = 100) -> None:
         if not self._engine:
-            self._engine = create_async_engine(self.connectionString, future=True)
+            self._engine = create_async_engine(
+                self.connectionString,
+                # echo_pool=True,
+                # hide_parameters=False,
+                pool_size=poolSize,
+                pool_recycle=3600,
+                pool_pre_ping=True,
+            )
 
     async def disconnect(self) -> None:
         if self._engine:
@@ -59,18 +68,32 @@ def _get_context_connection(self) -> DatabaseConnection | None:
             pass
         return None
 
+    # NOTE(krishan711): this is a little confusing. We creaete a connection for each erquest
+    # but if anything inside that request wants to do parallel queries, they should create
+    # their own transaction using `self.database.create_transaction()`, because asyncpg (and psql)
+    # do not support parallel queries on the same connection. This shows up badly if there is an
+    # uncaught exception raised whilst parallel queries are running.
+    # We have the forced reconnect at the bottom just to catch for this wierd case.
     @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
     async def create_context_connection(self) -> AsyncIterator[DatabaseConnection]:
         if not self._engine:
             raise InternalServerErrorException(message='Engine has not been established. Please called collect() first.')
         if self._get_context_connection() is not None:
             raise InternalServerErrorException(message='Connection has already been established in this context.')
-        async with self._engine.begin() as connection:
-            self._connectionContext.set(connection)
-            try:
-                yield connection
-            finally:
-                self._connectionContext.set(None)
+        connection = None
+        try:
+            async with self._engine.begin() as connection:
+                self._connectionContext.set(connection)
+                try:
+                    yield connection
+                finally:
+                    self._connectionContext.set(None)
+        except sqlalchemy.exc.InterfaceError as exception:
+            if 'cannot perform operation: another operation is in progress' not in str(exception):
+                raise
+            logging.error(f'Database connection error (likely concurrent operations): {exception}. Forcing reconnect. You MUST ensure that you are not running parallel queries on the same connection.')
+            await self.disconnect()
+            await self.connect()
 
     async def execute(self, query: TypedReturnsRows[ResultType], connection: DatabaseConnection | None = None) -> Result[ResultType]:
         if not self._engine: