Yet another labor Q: Nitrous Oxide, anyone?

[tiffany04]

The hospital I'm delivering at is one of the few in the US that includes nitrous oxide (laughing gas) as an option during labor (it is very common in Europe, and maybe Canada). It is supposed to help take the edge off the pain, and doesn't reach the baby in the same way as other interventions.

Has anyone used nitrous during labor? ...or know anything about it? I just found out about it during my childbirth prep class, and I'd like to learn a bit more about it before i start discussing my birth plan with my midwife at my next appointment. A google search turned up a little info, but not much. I'm not due until january, so I'm just exploring options.

TIA

[rorycam]

I have not had my baby yet, so I don't know anything about nitrous oxide in labor, but I have used it a few times during extensive dental work. It mostly made me feel like I did not care what was going on, and I was very unaware of things.

I can't imagine using it during labor when I am supposed to be an active participant in the process, because when I had it I could only just lie there and let them work on me and I was really out of it. Afterward, I had nearly no memory of having the dental work done. I actually only clearly remembered them starting the gas, then being told they were done, and really just hazy bits in between, which is good for a trip to the dentist but maybe not so good for labor. In my case, it was more for relaxing than pain control per se, and it did take the edge of my anxiety, but I don't think I would want to feel that way in labor. Of course, it may be totally different for you and in labor itself. Just my 2 cents.:)

Rory
mama-to-be to William Walker or Scarlett Jane, EDD 3/3/2004

[KathyO]

I had nitrous for dental surgery as well, and would agree that its primary effect (for me, at least) was to relax and calm me. I still remember the whole procedure, though. However, the only thing required of me for the surgery was to lie still and do nothing. I don't know how it would affect the performance of a labouring woman.

I do gather that one feature that makes it appealing from a chemical point of view is that it clears out of the system almost instantaneously as soon as you stop administering it, so it can be applied for a couple of critical minutes as needed and then pulled away, where some other pain relief drugs are in there for a lot longer once they have been administered. But I don't know more than that.

Oh, and yes, it is a fairly common option for labour in Canada.

HTH,

KathyO

[tiffany04]

One thing I do know about nitrous is that it is self-administered during labor -- it isn't continuous, and the laboring woman is just supposed to inhale it during the contractions. I believe that this is so that the mom can is still relatively active in her involvement in the process.

Thanks for your info (you too, kathy).

[heidi_timms]

I also had it for dental surgery. They actually gave me too much and started halucinating.

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03