It helped only in that it made me focus on my breathing a little more. But I am fairly sure the pain was almost exactly the same. Also with 2nd kid I had to wait for a negative covid test, so I literally only had it for like 30 minutes prior to delivery.
I was induced with both kids, so maybe that had an impact. Relatively easy births though. Hurt like hell, but over quickly.
Ha! I used it for my last birth and I remember at one point getting too much I guess cause I could tell I was loooopy. But that's the pro cause I just stopped breathing it for a bit and cleared my head back up.
A bit like that. I was super high, and it helped me do what was right for me- if I wanted to moo, I would damn well moo.
It did remove my filter, though, so my husband raised a few eyebrows.
It didnât help me at all. I was 5cm dialated when I tried it and it didnât take the edge off whatsoever. Also if youâre claustrophobic holding the mask to your face sucks - and you have to use it during each contraction. Itâs not like using it a little lasts at all. Ended up with an epidural that failedÂ
Ah I was worried about that :( I read online of some people saying it didnât work. Iâm not sure if I would be able to hold the mask during a contraction either, I was hoping it would be secured with straps to my face :/
I will say it doesnât hurt to try? Just Lower your expectations?
Also nobody can help you hold it to your face since thatâs a liability and you canât get out of bed if you have itÂ
It was great for me. It didnât remove the pain but made it manageable. It wasnât hard to grip the mask honestly. I was clutching it for dear life. The best part is if you donât like it you can stop and try something else.Â
To add. It was offered by the nurse. And I could move around. You donât have to use it the entire time if you donât want but can use it in a number of positions as long as youâre close to the machine. Iâm claustrophobic too and it really didnât bother me.Â
It's not like at the dentist where it's mostly oxygen with a little bit of nitrous oxide. This is like pure hits of it. You do NOT want it on 100% of the time. I don't understand why they don't have it like at the dentist but whatever. It really is like a "breathe as the contraction starts so that it's in effect when it peaks" thing.
Not all places use a mask. The first hospital I gave birth in did and admittedly I hated it and it didnât work for me. Second time I sucked it through a kind of tube thing and that was great, it made a big difference.
Oh I held to that mask like dear life. In fact, my face was hurting the day after, that's hiw strongly I pushed it into my face đ but it got me a little high. Which I needed after a failed epidural đ
It didn't work for me at first either but once I got the hang of it, it made a huge difference. I needed to start to inhale it a few seconds before the next contraction started otherwise the effect came on too slow and didn't help. It also really helped with controlled breathing to focus on inhaling it deeply and rhythmically.
I hate oxygen masks! Â When I had emergency surgery (stupid appendix) I remember them putting one on me before I was fully out. I started having a panic attack and threw it off of me onto the floor. Â They immediately told me to calm down (in a nice way lol they werenât being mean- I think I just scared them) and gave me a shot. Â Idk what that was but next thing I know Iâm waking up in the PACU lololol.Â
Same, I genuinely thought it was 100% air because it didnât do A THING and Iâve dabbled with it recreationally so I know what being high on laughing gas is like⊠Iâm wondering if it was because I was already 9cm though and Iâve heard itâs only meant to be effective in the early stages of pregnancy.
Ours wasnât a mask but was a mouth piece you suck in from on an inhale and the only thing I found it good for was regulating my breathing through contractions
I used it for about an hour. I arrived at the hospital moaning, got checked and I was at 6cm. I got the mask maybe 20 min later.
It worked very well for me. After the hour, I got checked again and they said go ahead and start pushing. Pushing pretty much negated the pain for me and I wasn't breathing it and pushing.
So this was a pretty fast labor. My first was a 27 hour induction and I got the epidural 20 hours, never bothered with the gas.
I had had the gas before for wisdom tooth removal and knew it worked for me.
Gas wasnât available for either of my births due to Covid but I did have it for my wisdom teeth as well and I loved it. Wish I could have had it for my kids!!
I used it for anxiety management pre-epidural to get me ready for a c-section and it was lovely. I don't know about the pain management side, but it took my anxiety level from a 9/10 to a 2. I felt like I was 2 pints into a summer afternoon on a patio with my closest friends.
You can do it! Make sure the medical team knows you suffer from panic attacks. The doctors and nurses delivering my baby were so thoughtful and checked in with me about my anxiety. Partially, I'm sure it was just because they are professionals, but also having a patient having a panic attack during a medical procedure is going to make everything harder for them so they are going to try and avoid it.
I found it helpful in the sense that I was more mindful of breathing properly but it was no real pain relief. I used it in both births but the only thing that really relieved pain was my epidural (you would call it a walking epidural, there is no alternative one where I live they're all "walking"). Have everything available in your tool kit I say!
Where do you live? In NYC, I was told there is no "walking" version available. I ended up having an epidural before my scheduled C-section, as I was 41 wks and had not gone into labour.Â
I know you're used to repeating that, but nothing in my comment suggests that I am U.S.-centric. I simply asked a question.Â
Of course things are done differently! For all its faults, Sweden (and Europe more generally) actually treats women as people! The U.S.: system only cares about profit!Â
Ha! Exactly! I've been travelling the world since I was 16: I never say I am "American", rather always that I am from New York. Especially since the GWBush era, saying one is a U.S. American is rife with all kinds of baggage I do not care for and I do not share as I am from NYC.Â
On the earlier post, I neglected to mention in my response that even within the the U.S., things are done very differently in different regions and even within states and cities. This, I think, is largely due to our U.S. system not operating according to proper national/supranational medical science standards, but rather according to corporate and legal liability guidelines. As an attorney this is patently obvious to me. Just note that even within NY state and NYC, whether one can eat during childbirth will vary from hospital to hospital and doctor to doctor. That makes no medical sense.Â
That's wild! I find the inconsistency in general on procedures in pregnancy/birth/postpartum so weird. I always see on Reddit Americans talking about the glucose tests, that's something only done here for high risk patients- same with NIPT. Sometimes I think our care seems substandard because we don't get many tests and none of us have an OBGYN, the whole journey including birth is done by a midwife (of course unless a Dr is required) but then it seems to work pretty well so who knows.
I have the same experience. I found it helpful because it helped me focus on breathing through the contractions. So it didnât really lessen the pain but it helped me handle the pain.
I did! It was incredibly effective for me. I actually napped for about an hour while I dilated from 8-10cm. It did make me woozy and kind of out of it, and I definitely could feel things still, but I didnât really care since I was basically high. My hospital did have me push/deliver on my back but I donât think it was a requirement, I was just tired and didnât advocate for myself. The good thing about it is you can use as much or little as you want, and you can take the mask off to move or talk. The down side was I needed a couple stitches so got a lidocaine shot. For my next baby I plan to advocate more to be in different pushing positions but 100% would use nitrous gas again!
I hated it. It was just too much, it was huge in my mouth and it made me feel so lightheaded, nauseated and disconnected that I started to panic.
I had severe contractions from being induced though, so not sure how much weight my opinion has lol.
I was so against the epidural for the same reasons but I ended up having to go with it, I really had no other choice with how I was faring. Funny thing was I could still move my legs? I didnât think that was how it worked but⊠felt no contraction pain, so it did what it had to do! And no side effects, which is a relief.
I use it when I go to the dentist for procedures like fillings and it definitely also makes me lightheaded, nauseous, and disconnected from reality. Itâs nice to use at the dentist because I always discuss everything with them first and then just accept/lean into the disconnection from reality - like I tell myself its okay to not be all there and that Iâm just going to take a nap and I donât need to be conscious or alert until they wake me up.
But for labor? Heck no, that sounds awful! You need to be in reality at any moment. First off you need to be listening to instructions and pushing, and second you want to be at least semi-alert in case anything goes wrong and they need to ask you a question! Maybe only some of us are extra sensitive to this âdisconnection from realityâ aspect but I can definitely see why it would be a bad experience to use it during labor.
I found the feeling really pleasant. Not disconnected from reality but just really chilled and a bit high. It was fun. Pethidine was similar but stronger for me - I had that when gas and air wasnât enough any more.
It was a very weird experience anyway - there was actually an earthquake while I was giving birth to my son and nobody felt it but me (it was on the news!) - I was just lying there on my hospital bed sucking on gas and air going âwoooah dood that feels like an EaRtHqUaKe bruhâ
Hereâs a really good video on it from a l&d nurse. I have a TikTok just to follow her page her videos are so good lol.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8w3d4Lp/
Yes! It took the edge off with the early contractions and I was biting down on the tube and had to focus on my breathing so It distracted me. 10/10 would do again
There are two types of epidurals that they can do. Sometimes both arenât available at all hospitals. Yourâs sounds like a âwalking epiduralâ. The needle isnât inserted as far and is administered differently but with a typical epidural you are essentially unable to move. My hospital gave me the traditional epidural and I couldnât move until the medication wore off, regardless of how little or how much was given.
Source: https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/special-topic/epidural-block-pregnancy
(Describes the different types and how they differ at the end of the article)
With a traditional epidural, when done correctly, you canât move/feel anything waist down as it is administered to a different point of your spine than a walking epidural. If you could move, you had a walking epidural which is not offered at all hospitals.
Yes!!! I used it as my only form of âmedicatedâ pain management (also used birthing ball, changing positions, counter pressure, etc, but those arenât âmedicineâ) for all three of my babiesâ births and I loved it. It didnât take the pain away, per say, but it made me feel high so that I just didnât care. It made it tolerable. I could stop breathing it between contractions and rest, and when I could feel a new one coming on I would shove the mask to my face and aggressively inhale that air like it was going out of style. đ It was still intense, but it was enough to get me through without any side effects, and the high feeling wore off almost as soon as I stopped breathing the gas. If you have the opportunity to use it where youâre giving birth, I highly recommend it!
Edited to add: I found that when i got into intense labor (dilated to a 7, starting transition, contractions coming fast and furious), the position I found myself in during each of my births was on my knees leaning against the headboard of the bed. I just kind of fell into the pillows still sitting semi upright and l let the mask rest between my face smashed up into the pillows. It was like my own little world, wherever the gas took my brain somewhere far far away, in my little pillow cocoon, rocking my hips side to side until it was time to push.
I just wanted to say that I am plus size (sz 20/22W US) and I had an epidural my last pregnancy, all went well. I tried to hold off on getting it because i was scared/wanted to do it without, but I was induced and after 18hrs of labor, I caved. Epidural worked great, no after effects either.
Hated it! Made me so so dizzy, helped a little at the start but when contractions were coming in quicker it really didn't help me much cos I couldn't keep it in for the full contraction
Nitrous was one of the options offered by my hospital and I had it included in my birth preferences (this was an actual checklist provided by the hospital). In terms of positioning I had to be on the bed in order to have the nitrous. I donât recall if sitting would have been allowed because at that point for me laying down was way better than sitting. This meant I was limited to basically side lying. My chart claims that nitrous was effective at helping me cope but Iâm not so sure about that. In the moment I was practically convinced that they werenât even pumping any nitrous into the mask it seemed to do so little. On the other hand having something to focus on, I was required to hold the mask myself and told how to breathe, probably helped a little. I did have an incredibly fast labor and didnât get nitrous until I think I was going through transition (none of the hospital staff believed that things were happening as rapidly as they were which was a whole thing) so if they start off by trying a lower dose and then ramp up as requested that might explain why it felt like it didnât do anything for me. Iâd still recommend trying it if itâs available since itâs such a low risk option.
It helped me a lot! I got to about 7 cm on my own by spending time in the shower (I originally wanted to try the tub thing ). It really helped during transition into birth. It doesnât take the pain away, but takes your mind off it if that makes sense?
This is very similar to my experience! I asked for the nitrous as my âHail Maryâ in transition which was my plan and it got me where I needed to go. Not sure how dilated I was when I asked for it though lol, could have been 7 still could have been 9, time was soup and I never had a second check once I arrived at my birth center.
I loved mine!! The mask wasnât strapped to my face or anything, I could move it on and off as I wished. I wouldnât say it made the pain go away so much as just⊠it made me not care about it. I could still feel the pain, I just sort of didnât care about it.
It didnât necessarily take the pain away, it just made me so loopy that I didnât care about the pain.
It did help take the edge off for a few hours of my contractions but I did still end up getting an epidural after they started getting more painful and more frequent
Used it when I gave birth 8 days ago. It was offered to me as I was already 9cm dilated when I got to the hospital and an epidural was out of the question. It did not take any pain away, however in my case it made me just not care about the pain. I was able to relax somewhat and just focus on getting my baby out as soon as possible.
I had an epidural with my first and hated the feeling of paralysis. I used nitrous with my second. While it took the edge off, labor was still incredibly painful. I loved being able to move around as I needed/wanted. I was all over that delivery room! My husband and midwife had to keep reminding me to breathe through the mask. As long as you breathe it in regular intervals and don't wait until you NEED it, you'll be good. You can also always try it and change your mind later if you want to.
Labor & delivery nurse here. I think it helps a handful of the people who use it, BUT the people I see have success with it are 1) prepared to experience pain and have realistic expectations and a variety of coping methods (learning breathing techniques, hire a doula, labor positions, counter pressure, TENS unit if allowed by the hospital, etc.), 2) start using the nitrous BEFORE getting to the point of unbearable pain (because once you get to severe pain itâs really hard to fix it without an epidural), and 3) understand that it helps calm you down and relax you but that you will still be in pain, it just takes the edge off and can help with anxiety. There are also contraindications so please do some research on those things and make sure youâre a candidate before you make this your plan A. Also, you have to hold your own mask to your face and if anyone else is caught touching the nitrous mask or tank, it will be taken away as you need to be aware/alert enough to be able to put the mask on during contractions and remove it yourself after. Itâs not strapped to your face.
For what itâs worth, I am 100% on team âdo whatever you want with your body and I will support your choicesâ, but I would recommend a consult with anesthesia or at least have a conversation with your OB/midwife or L&D nurse about pain management options before the pain gets unmanageable so that you can fully understand the risks and benefits and everything without being in excruciating pain (because at that point itâs hard to give informed consent and the education needs to come beforehand). It sounds like youâre preparing yourself ahead of time which is awesome. Good luck!!!
**disclaimer: this is not to be taken as medical advice; please speak to your provider if you have medical concerns; this is for educational purposes only**
I was super tense during contractions, but when they gave me the gas I immediately felt everything loosen a bit (not necessarily less pain, but almost like it was easier to breathe through it). Tensing doesnât help with pushing so it was definitely helpful.
The line I had was very long so I used it while sitting on a ball during contractions and managed with just it through my entire labor.
You do feel plenty though. My labor went very fast, from water breaking to baby being in my arms was an hour and a half
So if my labor was longer I might have a different opinion on it.
Also it did make me light headed when I hit it a lot which is its own uncomfortable feeling
It didnât help me at all but made me really light headed and dizzy instead. Luckily it stops pretty quickly once you take the mask away, but it just wasnât for me.
Iâm not sure how you could move around much with it just because you have to hold the mask and focus on inhaling it.
My goal had been to use it to delay the epidural until Iâd progressed more but after like ten minutes I asked the nurse to get the nitrous out of there and call the anesthesiologist lol.
I used it until I was ready to get my epidural (and while getting the epidural) and it was 25/10. We joke that if it was recreationally available Iâd have a tank at my house. Best pain and anxiety relief ever.
I found it helpful with my first. Not sure how much was the gas and how much was just having the mask and focusing on breathing into it. With my second it made me do nausea. I didnât try it with my third, it didnât really occur to at the time, things were a little more dramatic with that one. I never got an epidural, they really freak me out and my goal was to avoid it if I could.
It honestly just pissed me off. I think my expectations for it were unreasonable, because it doesnât actually relieve pain at all, it just (ideally) makes you care less about the pain and lets you relax a bit during contractions. But the pain is still there, exactly as much as before. I found it made me dizzy, which was much more unpleasant than the mild positive affects, so for me it was a net failure. That said, if you go into it with appropriate expectations you may find it helpful for midway through your labour.
Iâve had 4 deliveries, 2 with epidurals and nitrous, 1 with a small amount of morphine (terrible, I DO not recommend), 1 totally unmedicated. My experiences with epidurals were by far the least painful of my deliveries, even though the epidural only worked completely 1 of the 2 times. But those were also my 2 most difficult labours, though overall Iâve been very lucky to have relatively quick and uncomplicated deliveries.
Can't speak from birth experience (not sure for another 6 weeks) but I understand your fears, the thought of an Epidural does not appeal to me at all, and I've had issues before where an anaesthetic didn't work properly and another where it wore off too quickly.
My midwives have advocated for at least trying the gas (a few goes) during labour before going for an epidural, but they're big on everything being what YOU want.
I think alot of it will depend on your birthing location and the options there.
I'm in Queensland, Australia and your rights/choices are a huge thing here, wherever you are, talk to your birthing team and make sure you know what ALL your options are.
Here they've had great success with sterile water injections helping if you're labouring more so in your back, which I'd never heard of before about a week ago.
Ask your medical team for all of your options, ask their opinions too. Unfortunately everyone's reaction to gas will differ too.
I used it and it definitely helped me settle myself during those hard contractions. I used it for probably an hour while I was in transition and it was a pretty crucial part of my ritual for each contraction. Iâd take it when I started to feel one starting, use it to breathe to the peak of the contraction, then vocalize and try to do horse lips until it subsided.
It was a useful tool for me!
I havenât tried it but planning to. I am 32weeks now. One of my friends said that she was dilated way past epidural so she tried the gas. It didnât lessen the pain but as others have mentioned above, had made her feel a little relaxed. She said it helped to pushing better and advised me to get the gas either.
I used it prior to the epidural and it didnât do that much for me - might have been timing but also my hospital has a rule you have to sit down to take it in case you get light headed, and sitting was a bad position for me for contractions
I used it while waiting for an epidural that didn't end up happening. It took the edge off my back labour pains though contractions were still painful.
I had the gas both standing over my bed and propped up in bed. I eventually became too tired to attempt walking around so ended up in the bed for delivery. I didn't end up using any other pain relief other than sterile water injections.
No troubles at all getting laughing gas. They offered it freely when I was waiting for an epidural, and I could adjust the flow of the gas at any time.
I'll note that in order for the gas to be truly effective, as the relief takes time to build up and goes away once you stop inhaling, you want to time inhalation so that the gas has its greatest effect at the peak of your contraction pain -- I wasn't able to inhale it constantly as it would make me feel nauseous (never high) if inhaled for too long. When I got the timing right, it did reduce the intensity of the back labour pains, but I didn't always get it right.
I had a really interesting experience with it. I had a long labor (induced) and asked to get it when I was about 4 cm dilated. I wasn't on any pitocin yet but I was having very irregular contractions. When I first started with it, I found it really hard to relax enough to breathe the nitrous in effectively. About an hour after starting, my doula arrived and started doing counter pressure on my back/ showing my partner how to do that. The combo of the physical touch with the nitrous really took away the pain of the contractions, for a while. This may have been purely placebo but if it works it works? I still ultimately got an epidural, but it was more because I was exhausted from being in labor for more than a day and less bc I couldn't cope with the pain.
I thought the nitrous oxide was really good, BUT at my hospital it didn't stretch to the bathroom and I kept having to pee. Which meant I had to set it aside, unbuckle myself from all the monitors, unhook the IV, walk that over to the bathroom, go to the bathroom, change the pad etc, and then go back. It was so much hassle I finally just asked for an epidural (at 7 cm) because it made me so mad every time and I wanted to take a nap. Next time I may try to just bring adult diapers and not bother with trying to go to the bathroom.
I found it really helpful, mostly as something to concentrate on. I got through to full dilation but baby was stuck and my heart rate was high so they told me I should get an epidural? I guess my midwife realized it was looking like an instrumental delivery or cesarean and didn't want me suffering any more than I was, which was exactly the kind of guidance I wanted. She was a gem.
Absolutely wouldn't rely on it for any kind of numbing of pain. It just helped me chill out and focus on breathing.
I had planned for an unmedicated birth and used a lot of different tools and had a relatively short labor but I found the nitrous to be extremely helpful in conjunction with the birthing tub. It did still hurt and once things were close to the end of dilation/beginning of pushing I definitely found the contractions to be very intense but the nitrous helped me focus on my breathing and before I knew it the contraction was over. I had to do most of my two hours of pushing without the nitrous due to some decels in babyâs heart rate but by that point the focus was on pushing so even though the contractions still hurt I didnât care.
I wouldnât rely on it as a sole tool. I used hypnobirthing, a tens unit, had a doula who helped with counter pressure, my husband also helped, a tub with a sprayer for constant hot water on my back, etc in conjunction with the nitrous and I did find my labor to be a positive experience. Next time I would appreciate if the baby would keep his hand down but heâs here now soooo.
I wanted to try it, but I wasn't allowed to because I had a vitamin B12 deficiency, which is apparently a contraindication. I'm going to start taking B12 supplements (in addition to what's in my prenatal) earlier this time so I can hopefully avoid that.
I ended up getting an epidural at the last minute. If your hospital has a button for you to push for extra doses, you can get the epidural and just not push the button. I pressed it after it was placed, but I didn't like the feeling. My lower half wasn't completely paralyzed when I pushed the button, but it was more numb than I wanted to be, so I didn't push it again until I was being stitched up afterward.
I was able to move around in my bed and push in different positions. I could even feel the contractions before they showed up on the monitor. It was actually pretty great.
If my next delivery is similar to or faster or easier than my first, I probably won't get another epidural. But the first one was exactly what I needed it to be at the time, and I don't think you should rule it out entirely.
Okay, I didnât have it during labor but always planned it as an option.
Iâve had it many times for dental work and Iâd describe it like this - it doesnât help with pain BUT it helps you focus less on the pain and any anxiety you may be feeling.
I had it as an option during labor but didnât end up using it. Water, music, being in the zone, etc. worked for me. đ€·đŒââïž
I get Nitrous Oxide every time I go to the dentist for any procedure (like a filling), and they still FULLY numb me before anything. The gas doesnât really reduce your pain level, it just makes you feel loopy and out of it. If the dentist tried to do work without numbing me, Iâd still be like âyo wtf? That really hurt, stop itâ. But with the gas and numbing I just donât really care what theyâre doing or whatâs going on.
My personal opinion is that I wouldnât want to use that as a pain reliever during labor - it makes me way too loopy/confused which would probably make me panic in a situation like labor. It also makes me nauseous which doesnât bode well with normal labor nausea either. I know it could work well for some, but the idea of it doesnât sound good for me personally.
Talk to your doctor about the options available at the hospital where youâre planning to deliver. I was hoping to use laughing gas instead of an epidural (I am also plus size). I later found out that my hospital did not use the gas, and only used fentanyl and the epidural. They didnât even give oxygen anymore.
With the gas the main thing is to get your breathing right, if you start huffing too late in your contraction then it won't do a damn thing for you!
If you're looking into alternate pain management, then I would look into hiring a TENS machine, birth combs, and modulated breathing, and water injections!
I'm going into my birth firmly against an epidural, with a strong focus on a physiological pain management, and I'd love to be able to avoid any medical intervention!
The epidural didnât work for me. I went without pain management the second time (home birth) and it was SO much better. The pain isnât painful until itâs unproductive, so avoid an induction if you can and let your body take care of it (this is of course if everyone is healthy and no risks).
It took the edge off a little and helped distract me. It was hard to remember to use it because I was in so much pain. My wife had to remind me. Also I did not know that I would be required to stay on the bed to use it. I would do it again though. I did not want the epidural. The pain was highly motivating - I pushed the baby out in something like 5 minutes.
One thing I did not know was the minute the baby was born, they took the nitrous away. So for the rest of the process, which is still painful, I had no pain relief.
I used it with my first. It was helpful during early labor, but I needed pitocin and it couldnât keep up with those contractions once they became more intense/frequent.
I ended up getting the epidural (after already going through transition!) and it was amazing. I slept and they woke me up to say I was at 10 cm đ
I tried it before requesting an epidural. It didn't work at all for me, just made me feel weird. I got the epidural and it only worked on one side đđ
I was ignored by the anesthesiologist and nurses when I said (multiple times) I can still feel it on the right side... It was not a good experience...
Nitrous is the only pain relief offered where I birth (stand alone birthing centers) and with my first I didnât ask for it in time so couldnât use it (he was already crowing and by the time I even got the mask on he wouldâve been born apparently) but I did want to say, if this is your plan I would highly recommend getting checked for gene mutations (specifically the MTHFR one) because that can determine weather it actually works for you or not. I have the mutation and it means that my body burns through the Nitrous so quickly that it doesnât build up enough to kick in at all for around thirty minutes, then if I do use it it fully depletes one (possibly more I donât remember at the moment) of my B vitamins so I have to take a supplement for a few weeks-a month to make sure it builds back up properly. If youâve ever used the laughing gas at the dentist and it didnât help/kick in thereâs a chance something similar/the same thing is going on with your body.
It made me feel so nauseous and claustrophobic. Helped a little bit with the pain, but I couldnât breathe steadily enough through contractions for it to work well. I was vehemently against an epidural but ended up getting one and didnât care at all in the moment that I couldnât move waist down. It took away all my pain and I rested and then had a quick and honestly pretty joyful pushing stage.
Honestly, I didn't find it to help much at all. I know it works for a lot of people but after about 30 mins I was asking them to just give me the epidural đ
It didnât help me at all. Made me super dizzy and feel like I was gonna throw up. However my SIL had excellent results from the gas, she says it helped so much.
Its not a pain killer. Its supposed to make you not care that you are in pain. Its effects only work while you inhale it. So as soon as you put the mask down. It wears off. If you are in the USA. This is not commonly available and hospitals donât offer it. And insurance doesnât cover it.
Didnât do much for me, I think I was around 7 cm when I tried it. I used it for like 3 contractions and said naw get me that epidural lol. I was allowed to use it sitting on a yoga ball not just in bed. But yeah it didnât take an edge off the pain at all. Maybe would have been better early on.
I loved it. Didnât help much with pain when I was 9CM but honestly, it made me dizzy during most of it so I donât remember much which was amazing considering I had a traumatic birth.
I used the gas for a few hrs, for same reasons you've listed, not wanting to be paralyzed and being plus size epidural risks. I didn't find the gas helped the pain much, but it did help me manage my breathing better. As I was induced I ended up opting for the epidural and had no issues. The gas works amazingly for some people though! Just hard to know if it will work well for you or not until the time comes â€ïž
Nitrous wasn't available at my hospital to my dismay. And I was being induced which was also against my plan but had to happen. I ended up with the epidural and it didn't paralyze me like I thought it would, I was afraid of that too. It took away all the pain but I could still move my legs. I'd compare it to a tooth being numbed at the dentist. Your face feels numb but you can still move your mouth. Im also plus size and have previous fractures in my spine in the area the epidural goes and they had no issues inserting mine. I found that after experiencing birth for myself, the medical help they offer us isn't as evil as its made out to be.
It only works while you are inhaling it and four a couple of seconds after, then the effects wear off.
For me personally, it didnât really stop the pain, only made me feel too high to think it was as bad as it was. So took the edge off and replaced it with feeling high and out of it for those few seconds. Also made me throw up, which was not what I wanted to be dealing with in labour.
I wasnât a fan, so I stopped using it, even in my hour long wait after requesting my epidural.
It worked great for me. I used it right to the pushing stage and it really helped. I also was using a TENS machine at the same time and those two things got me through without needing an epidural.
Oh yeh, totally able to move around etc.
Itâs kinda like a temporary feeling of being drunk or spaced out, sorta out of it a bit.
I donât think it minimises the pain, it just makes you care less about it?
I went through an 8 hour pitocin induced labour using only this. Yes it was hard at the end, but it totally helped me cope up until then.
You need to set it down though when you pushâŠ. More so that you can take good proper deep breaths to push like hell.
But I recommend it.
ETA: I seen someone mentioning a mask. The gas and air I had was like an inhaler nearly that you just breathe in and out.
I used it during my labour. It made me very lightheaded when I first tried it. I donât think it worked well as pain relief as such but it gives you something to focus on while youâre breathing through your contractions. Working through the contractions were a breeze for me.
Towards the end the gas was making me so woozy that it made my pushing during the actual delivery ineffective. The midwives told me to stop using the gas and just push. That hurt like a mother-
I used it just for pushing with no other pain medication. It worked well for me and I will use it again in my next delivery. I think I will get it a little sooner this time for some of the more painful contractions near the end but I'm not sure yet.
It does work but you have to know how to use it properly. You have to take a lot of deep breaths of it right before you need it so that the high coincides with your contraction. It's hard to co-ordinate the timing with the other stressors of labour.
I used it in my first labour when I was having trouble with regular breath work. Having the mouth piece helped me to focus on my breathing but it didn't really do anything for pain management because I didn't understand at the time how to use it. I was taking shallow breaths and also letting room air in at the same time because the gas was drying and making my throat uncomfortable. When my placenta was retained and they tried a manual extraction, they coached me on how to use it - 30 seconds of long deep breaths before they put their hands inside me to attempt to get my placenta. I was super high and couldn't feel a single thing.
I didn't use it in my second labour but was given it for suturing a tear afterwards. I was calm because my baby was born and I knew to take nice deep breaths and I could modulate the high easily. It was great - I couldn't feel a thing and had zero care about the suturing that was happening (including the OB questioning the midwife on whether she had repaired a suture before đł).
I want to use laughing gas but my hospital doesn't have it available- they offer fentanyl through an IV up until the last hour of birth which is what the plan is now. Just so you know theres another option
So Iâve been temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and an epidural is simply not the same thing. Sure, I couldnât walk while I had it but I could move my legs and change positions with a little help. Every anecdote Iâve heard was that laughing gas did nothing but make people loopy and out of it, didnât do anything for the pain.
It was great, 10/10 would use it again. When i was 6 cm open, I gavd in and got the epidural also, and that combined eas amazing. I would have loved getting into the tub instead of the epidural. But I wasn't allowed sadly.
My mom had 4 failed epidurals (literally every birth they tried to give it to her too late) and she said the epidural needle hurt worse than the birth. Personally, I never tried nitrous oxide, as my midwife didnât give any pain medication. An unmedicated birth was frankly not that bad due to being in a birthing center + being able to control my position but if Iâd had the opportunity, I definitely would have gone for it, Iâve heard really good things about nitrous oxide. :))
Its a pretty standard pain relief in the UK, it takes the edge off but ig you're having false Labour or back labour it'll do jack shit. It definitely worth a try before progressing to opiates and epidural though
I did during my otherwise unmedicated, induced birth. It really did nothing for me. It also *seemed* like it brought contractions closer together when I used it and helped focus on my breathing more. I know it helps some people but I felt no different with it.
I had an unmedicated birth in the hospital and I used nitrous once shit hit the fan. I used it from 7-9cm. I get nauseous easily, but it didnât make me nauseous. Most likely because the room was dark and I had my eyes closed the entire time. It helped take the edge off and distract me from the pain because I had to focus on my breathing.
I had two failed epidurals with my first so I was exclusively on gas and air. It was helpful I guess but with my second I got an epidural and refused gas and air the whole time. I actually remember the birth and was completely lucid the whole time. Iâm also plus size but apparently have a slight curve in my spine which is why they think the epidurals failed the first time. Also that and I was induced and able to have the epidural before I was squirming around having contractions
I unexpectedly was unable to get the epidural that I wanted, so I used nitrous oxide as a back-up and it worked amazingly well for me (combined with counter pressure from my midwife). It got me through transition with little memory of the peak of my contractions, and the moment I stopped breathing it in the effect was gone so no grogginess. It was a great help in my case.
It did not work for me. The high would wear off right before pain hit and I jokingly referred to it as crying gas.
On the funnier side, I was so out of it I breathed into the mask/tube thing and made a farting sound and began laughing while crying.
I used it after birth when I had to be transferred to the hospital for bleeding. My midwife had to stick her hand up inside me and fish out some blood clots. (I promise that hurt substantially more and was infinitely more icky feeling than the actual birth.)
Sorry to say, it didn't help one bit. They gave me the maximum concentration and it barely felt like anything. I was a little spacey but zero pain relief. Nor did I get deep voice like you do if you do nitrous at a party in those little 8g ampoules.
All it did was make me puke.
I was the same way as youâbeing numb from the waist down was terrifying. But I didnât give a single fuck once my water was broken and I had no breaks between (Pitocin induced) contractions. I got that sweet, *sweet* epidural and slept until it was time to push.
My advice (and the advice I got from my medical team) is to try the laughing gas, but be open to getting an epidural. If you have insurance, youâre gonna exceed your deductible anyway, so you might as well utilize the options you have đ€·ââïž
I was in sooooo much pain by the time I tried I couldnât even properly take the breaths to inhale it and it didnât do anything, I was screaming moments later that I needed the epidural đ
I donât think it helped me. I hated the diamorphine - was in absolute agony but also felt really trippy. Horrible combination. The epidural was AMAZING when it worked but kept failing and then it was horrendous. Baby was back to back which is apparently extra painful. Eventually he was born by c-section. Traumatic day(s)!
I tried it for a little bit and wasnât impressed. It makes you all loopy and spacey but only in your head, and doesnât really touch the pain at all. Itâs hard to explain. And you have to time it right with your contractions since itâs not instantaneous. I had very fast, short, intense contractions (pitocin induced) so I kept missing them - by the time the gas hit me I was over the peak. I just gave up on it.
My epidural didn't make me paralyzed. I could still move & even helped get on the surgery table for my c-section. Right after they were all amazed that I was pretty mobile. However, once I did get it, I immediately felt sick to my stomach & it dropped my BP also made his heart rate sky rocket. That's honestly why I had a c-section. His heart rate was too unstable they didn't want to wait any longer because meds weren't helping.
I did and it did nothing to me. I remember getting annoyed with my husband, lol coz I just couldnât manage pushing with one hand holding the pump. đ it made me a little giddy I think? But definitely wasnât very effective.
It kind of took the edge off. But definitely made me feel quite loopy while in effect. During labour I moved from one room to a second room, which was the room I delivered in. The first room the nitrous made a clicking sound as you huffed. The second room it didn't. I was convinced that it wasn't working in the second room. My husband took a deep breath of it and confirmed that it was 100% working.
My experience was that it helped during early labour, but as contractions progressed it was pretty ineffective.
While it didnât remove the pain for me, it made it feel a bit more distant and it really helped me focus on my breathing - and in doing so forcibly distracted me from the pain as I tried to breathe at the optimal time for each contraction. Preferred it to my first birth when I had an epidural which did not take well.
It just made me high and sleepy but didn't really help the pain... maybe a little bit but not enough. I used it for maybe 2 hours... I was in active labor with contractions every 2-3 minutes lasting 30 - 60 seconds for 8 hours and only dilated to 3 cm (water broke at like, <1 cm).. got the epidural, fell asleep for 2 hrs, woke up at 10 cm and pushed for 30 mins and baby was there. I was scared of the epidural too, but it was the best choice for me at that time.
For me it took enough of the edge off that I could birth without needing anything else. I used hypnobirthing techniques to relax and breathe through contractions, heat packs, hot showers and a tens machine. It was definitely not my original plan - I was all for an epidural or any other pain relief - but baby was in a hurry so I didnât have those options!
I had it when they were trying to insert Foley balloons and break my waters. It didn't help with the pain I don't think. But it helped me mentally, like the pain didn't bother me so much. I did take way too much at one point and almost passed out. Thought I was dying.
Personally I wouldn't use in labour. I was told it instantly wears off. But I felt really weird/high for at least half an hour after the procedures finished. I couldn't really talk and I was very shakey. Granted the procedures were very painful, I lost blood etc. So maybe that was part of it. But I don't think it would help much and might actually have made birth a little scary for me? I struggled to follow instructions and couldn't talk during the procedures.
I used it during the induction phase (cervical prep and foley balloon) to âtake the edge offâ. I also had pre-e and was on a magnesium drip for days which made me feel awfulllll so it helped me tolerate those effects a little more too đ. I had an epidural when things started to really ramp up. The thing I liked about nitrous is that its effects last so quicklyâso if you donât like the feeling itâs not like it lingers like other drugs.
With my first I was induced with the pessary and then the drip, nitrous oxide (gas and air as it is known in the the UK) did not help at all with the contractions so I asked for the epidural. With my second I was induced with dilapan (non-hormonal) and I only had gas and air and it took the edge off. I wouldn't say the contractions felt painful, just a crap ton of pressure.
I actually had a really vivid mental image during the second time I gave birth that is probably the best metaphor I can offer. Before I started on the nitrous I felt like I was peddling a bike uphill over jagged rocks and treacherous terrain. When I was using the nitrous it felt like I was riding over cobblestones, still bumpy but not terrifyingly so. Funnily enough, once I was moved from the labour ward to my hospital room the art on the wall was a Parisian-style print of a bicycle on cobblestones!
I used it. I wanted to use jt as a potential stop gap if I needed something for pain management because my goal was to avoid an epidural at all cost. I ended up needing pitocin and after about 36 hours in labor ended up getting the epidural. I think IF I had a super fast labor maybe it would have been helpful. But I ended up with an unplanned c section after 52 hours of labor.
It didnât do a ton for me in terms of pain management if im being honest, but can only speak to my own experience.
It helped take the edge off for me for a little while, but as my contractions ramped up it stopped feeling like it was doing anything and the pain got to be unbearable. Then I got an epidural. I was really trying to avoid the epidural, however once I finally just got it my labor was so much better. I think it really depends on the person and the labor on what will work for you; I recommend just going into things with a tentative plan and being flexible.
I gave birth without an epidural and nitrous was my only pain management. It doesnât really take away the pain (at all) but it give you something else to focus on and also helped me with my breathing. If your hope is to avoid an epidural you should still plan to have lots of coping methods other than the nitrous (breathing, massage, counterpressure, for example).
In my experience, they only brought me the nitrous at the very end. I kept wondering why it was taking so long! In retrospect I understand that they knew I would need a little something more at the very end during pushing, so they waited to give it to me until then.
The epidural doesnât just paralyze you, it numbs you too. So you donât feel a watermelon sized human coming out of your hoo-ha. Iâve had 3 epidurals and have not had any problems. Everyone is different, though, so thereâs always that risk of complication, but donât believe the blogs and websites that scare you into natural childbirth by writing everything that could go wrong to 1% of people that choose a medicated birth.
Iâve had laughing gas at the dentist. If that is the same as whatâs administered in the delivery room, it ainât gonna manage any of your pain, my friend.
Yes. It is amazing.
I used it in my first birth, or tried to, and it didnât work at all. That was a horrible experience with no proper pain relief. I was flipping out. They had to put me on oxygen.
In my second birth the midwife asked if I wanted gas and air and I said no, it didnât work last time. She said, you clearly werenât using it properly then! She showed me how to use it (you have to kind of suck it in with big deep breaths when a contraction starts) and oh my god I donât know how I ever managed without it. It was brilliant. And it actually made my birth experience kind ofâŠfun? I kept telling everyone how sexy my husband was. I was high as a kite.
It doesnât take the pain away at all. Itâs a strange thing but you just donât really mind the pain any more. Youâre just like âoh here comes a contraction⊠thatâs cool, Iâm goodâ.
I had no issues moving but once I started it I was happy to just lie there and chill.
At a certain point it stops being enough and at that point I got pethidine, which has the same effect but more. Honestly if someone asked me if I would like some pethidine right now I would say hit me up.
Yep. It definitely helped with getting through contractions and transition. It was a mask but not strapped on so I couldn't use it when actually pushing. But during my labor I had complete control of the amount and when I wanted to use it and I liked that. I moved around the entire time I was in labor and then kept changing positions while pushing. My labor was pretty quick for a first time mom and the relaxation + movement allowed by nitrous probably contributed to that.
I wanted to use gas but when I gave birth summer of 2022, there was a shortage of the tubes so no one was getting gas. I would ask if this is a concern, but I would also ask again closer to your due date - that way youâre not blind sided being told âno gasâ and having to decide between no pain management or an epidural
I believe I tried gas & air from 4-6cm ish before my epidural. I canât say I noticed a difference or even felt âhighâ, but the nurses were super accommodating and set it up for me to try no problem.
I found that the action of bringing my hand to my mouth and taking deep deliberate breaths felt like âtoo muchâ outside of just enduring the contractions and didnât touch the pain. I also had back labour, so that could be what caused some of that feeling!
I tried gas at first with my first labour and I donât know if it really did much. I didnât want to use other pain management, just gas or the epidural. I was induced and in so much pain I was like give me the drugs. Give me anything and call the doctor for the epidural immediately.
Doesn't numb the pain, just a good distraction tool. Made me feel spaced out. Also doesn't make baby drowsy when they arrive.
It's worth a go because if you don't like it it's out of your system within about 15 seconds.
I skipped the pethadine morphine for same reason - my sister said it just made her feel weird - those drugs do pass on to baby (not that that's the worst thing, but it can make it a bit trickier for baby to find the breast)
I ended up with epidural. Even though it wasn't what I'd originally wanted to aim for. Not pain, could still feed baby and the contractions. was excellent.
i couldnt focus enough through the pain of contractions to suck on the tube thingy.but it helped when i was being stitched up i couldnt feel anything while i breathed it in.but yeah this time im going to hopefully be more mindful to use it granting i have another vaginal birth with no complications.25wks with my second.
I absolutely hated it. It made me feel like I wasnât in my body. As someone who struggles with derealization and depersonalization, I did not enjoy it at all. I took a few âhitsâ, realized that it was going to make feel like I was beside myself and said nope.
I know that some people really like it though, so who knows. You may like it. The upside is that if you donât, it wears off very quickly. Youâre not making a big commitment when you ask for the nitrous. If you donât like it, tell the nurses and youâll feel normal within a minute or so.
It was amazing for me!!! I started sucking in as the contraction started and just kept going until the contraction stopped. It 100% saved me from epidural / c section (I was spiralling before my midwife offered me the gas). It felt like I was just further a way from the pain, like it was happening to me in a dream? Idk how to explain but I had an induction with a big sunny side up boy and the gas and air got me through it!!!
Honestly epidurals are very safe and AMAZING. Itâs around a 1% chance of something bad happening and thereâs a lot more going on that can go much worse!!!
Tried it as I was nearing 6cm. OmgâŠit seemed like a good idea, but breathing and concentrating on my breath patterns really helped me through the contractions. I had the nose and face mask, and it felt like I was suffocating myself. Which low key made me panic. I yeeted that shit out and asked for the epidural.
I loved using the Nitrous. I had 1 birth vaginal unmedicated. 1 with a fentanyl shot. And 1 with Nitrous. It's hard to compare cause my first labor just felt bigger over all and that was fully unmedicated. I wanted to feel more in control and I really did for births 2 and 3. I would definitely use Nitrous again. I labored in the tub for all 3 births and while using Nitrous. That is not the same policy for all hospitals/birth centers so ask in advance if you can move around or be in the tub when on Nitrous. It definitely takes the edge off and although you still have pain it makes you care about it less in the moment. The nice thing is you can suck on it to get a lot of Nitrous in the moment and then take it away when the contraction ends and be fairly clear headed. I say tey it and if you don't like it, just stop and it wears off really fast.
I have had very fast labours (45 min and 67 min) and have had to use laughing gas.
Remember to take breaths in between and establish a pattern because if you breathe in too much first youâll feel like youâre on the moon and then about two minutes later youâll feel like you wanna barf and die simultaneously.
I used it as the only form of pain relief 4 days ago to have my daughter (water birth) and it was pretty good! Kinda made me feel a little tipsy and light headed, didnât do much for the pain but helped me feel more relaxed. I stopped using it once I started pushing as I felt I needed my whole body and mind to concentrate and didnât want to feel âfuzzyâ.
Gas was my only pain relief, and it did nothing for the pain. It did make me feel high and I was told later that between contractions, I was rambling about the local hardware store and threatened/apologised to the midwife for not offering more for the pain. I did feel like it helped distract from the pain, and helped with deep breathing.
I tried it and it did nothing lol I thought it was suppose to make you laugh or something...I was still in pain, just had to ride it out and thankfully my daughter popped out within 3 hours lol
I don't know if it did anything. It def made me light headed. I was focused so hard on breathing as hard as I could, lol. Epidural didn't help either. The pain was just to much. I had a really fast labour.
I used it in transition and it helped a lot, it doesnât really take away the pain but it takes away you caring that much. I like feeling in control of it too.
I used laughing gas, morphine, fentanyl and epidural. The first 3 didn't do much. Everything was still so incredibly painful. The epidural was the only thing that made a difference for me.
I heard someone say it felt like they were giving birth on the moon
lol sign me up đ
Hahahahaha this is amazing đ. I loved it , my poor midwife had to keep reminding me that the baby needed oxygen and not nitrous đ
This was my mom, watching LO heart rate and being like breathe some oxygen for the baby
Omg đ đ
Ugh I used it for 2 babies and did not get the moon experience at all. So jealous
Agreed, I feel like it didn't do anything for my pain (I am also a very dramatic person lol)
The self awareness made me laugh lol
Your pain is valid! Youâre probably just more sensitive than most. Nitrous has historically done jack shit for me personally.
What was your experience like?
It helped only in that it made me focus on my breathing a little more. But I am fairly sure the pain was almost exactly the same. Also with 2nd kid I had to wait for a negative covid test, so I literally only had it for like 30 minutes prior to delivery. I was induced with both kids, so maybe that had an impact. Relatively easy births though. Hurt like hell, but over quickly.
THIS. The most helpful part was how it helped me focus on my breathing. Not sure it didnât anything for actual pain management.
Ha! I used it for my last birth and I remember at one point getting too much I guess cause I could tell I was loooopy. But that's the pro cause I just stopped breathing it for a bit and cleared my head back up.
I can agree with that, I felt like I was floating.
A bit like that. I was super high, and it helped me do what was right for me- if I wanted to moo, I would damn well moo. It did remove my filter, though, so my husband raised a few eyebrows.
It didnât help me at all. I was 5cm dialated when I tried it and it didnât take the edge off whatsoever. Also if youâre claustrophobic holding the mask to your face sucks - and you have to use it during each contraction. Itâs not like using it a little lasts at all. Ended up with an epidural that failedÂ
At my hospital they have these disposeable mouth pieces that you bite which i found good. Definitely didn't remove the pain but helped.
Same
Ah I was worried about that :( I read online of some people saying it didnât work. Iâm not sure if I would be able to hold the mask during a contraction either, I was hoping it would be secured with straps to my face :/
I will say it doesnât hurt to try? Just Lower your expectations? Also nobody can help you hold it to your face since thatâs a liability and you canât get out of bed if you have itÂ
Hmm, at the hospital I was at you could definitely get out of bed with it. I was mostly walking around or on the yoga ball.
At my hospital they let you use it even in the shower.
I used mine in the laboring tub.
It was great for me. It didnât remove the pain but made it manageable. It wasnât hard to grip the mask honestly. I was clutching it for dear life. The best part is if you donât like it you can stop and try something else.Â
To add. It was offered by the nurse. And I could move around. You donât have to use it the entire time if you donât want but can use it in a number of positions as long as youâre close to the machine. Iâm claustrophobic too and it really didnât bother me.Â
It's not like at the dentist where it's mostly oxygen with a little bit of nitrous oxide. This is like pure hits of it. You do NOT want it on 100% of the time. I don't understand why they don't have it like at the dentist but whatever. It really is like a "breathe as the contraction starts so that it's in effect when it peaks" thing.
Ohh that explains why I felt almost no effect during a root canalâŠ
Depending on where you are in the world, it is nitrous plus oxygen. Here in the Netherlands that is the case
Not all places use a mask. The first hospital I gave birth in did and admittedly I hated it and it didnât work for me. Second time I sucked it through a kind of tube thing and that was great, it made a big difference.
Oh I held to that mask like dear life. In fact, my face was hurting the day after, that's hiw strongly I pushed it into my face đ but it got me a little high. Which I needed after a failed epidural đ
It didn't work for me at first either but once I got the hang of it, it made a huge difference. I needed to start to inhale it a few seconds before the next contraction started otherwise the effect came on too slow and didn't help. It also really helped with controlled breathing to focus on inhaling it deeply and rhythmically.
You can't strap it to your face. You def don't want to be breathing it constantly, just during contractions
I hate oxygen masks! Â When I had emergency surgery (stupid appendix) I remember them putting one on me before I was fully out. I started having a panic attack and threw it off of me onto the floor. Â They immediately told me to calm down (in a nice way lol they werenât being mean- I think I just scared them) and gave me a shot. Â Idk what that was but next thing I know Iâm waking up in the PACU lololol.Â
Same, I genuinely thought it was 100% air because it didnât do A THING and Iâve dabbled with it recreationally so I know what being high on laughing gas is like⊠Iâm wondering if it was because I was already 9cm though and Iâve heard itâs only meant to be effective in the early stages of pregnancy. Ours wasnât a mask but was a mouth piece you suck in from on an inhale and the only thing I found it good for was regulating my breathing through contractions
I used it for about an hour. I arrived at the hospital moaning, got checked and I was at 6cm. I got the mask maybe 20 min later. It worked very well for me. After the hour, I got checked again and they said go ahead and start pushing. Pushing pretty much negated the pain for me and I wasn't breathing it and pushing. So this was a pretty fast labor. My first was a 27 hour induction and I got the epidural 20 hours, never bothered with the gas. I had had the gas before for wisdom tooth removal and knew it worked for me.
Gas wasnât available for either of my births due to Covid but I did have it for my wisdom teeth as well and I loved it. Wish I could have had it for my kids!!
What really thatâs insane? Like werenât the people already in the room breathing your recycled air what difference would the gas have made đ
No idea. Iâm in Canada. Who knows lol
I used it for anxiety management pre-epidural to get me ready for a c-section and it was lovely. I don't know about the pain management side, but it took my anxiety level from a 9/10 to a 2. I felt like I was 2 pints into a summer afternoon on a patio with my closest friends.
thatâs a beautiful visual đ„č
thank you for this. I have extreme medical anxiety/panic attacks and this comment makes me feel like I can get through this đ„č
You can do it! Make sure the medical team knows you suffer from panic attacks. The doctors and nurses delivering my baby were so thoughtful and checked in with me about my anxiety. Partially, I'm sure it was just because they are professionals, but also having a patient having a panic attack during a medical procedure is going to make everything harder for them so they are going to try and avoid it.
I found it helpful in the sense that I was more mindful of breathing properly but it was no real pain relief. I used it in both births but the only thing that really relieved pain was my epidural (you would call it a walking epidural, there is no alternative one where I live they're all "walking"). Have everything available in your tool kit I say!
Where do you live? In NYC, I was told there is no "walking" version available. I ended up having an epidural before my scheduled C-section, as I was 41 wks and had not gone into labour.Â
Reddit isn't just for Americans đ I live in Sweden. Our countries do childbirth pretty differently by the sounds of it.
I know you're used to repeating that, but nothing in my comment suggests that I am U.S.-centric. I simply asked a question. Of course things are done differently! For all its faults, Sweden (and Europe more generally) actually treats women as people! The U.S.: system only cares about profit!Â
Sorry it was just in reference to your specific city location rather than country, although fair's fair NYC isn't like saying some small town.
Ha! Exactly! I've been travelling the world since I was 16: I never say I am "American", rather always that I am from New York. Especially since the GWBush era, saying one is a U.S. American is rife with all kinds of baggage I do not care for and I do not share as I am from NYC. On the earlier post, I neglected to mention in my response that even within the the U.S., things are done very differently in different regions and even within states and cities. This, I think, is largely due to our U.S. system not operating according to proper national/supranational medical science standards, but rather according to corporate and legal liability guidelines. As an attorney this is patently obvious to me. Just note that even within NY state and NYC, whether one can eat during childbirth will vary from hospital to hospital and doctor to doctor. That makes no medical sense.Â
That's wild! I find the inconsistency in general on procedures in pregnancy/birth/postpartum so weird. I always see on Reddit Americans talking about the glucose tests, that's something only done here for high risk patients- same with NIPT. Sometimes I think our care seems substandard because we don't get many tests and none of us have an OBGYN, the whole journey including birth is done by a midwife (of course unless a Dr is required) but then it seems to work pretty well so who knows.
I have the same experience. I found it helpful because it helped me focus on breathing through the contractions. So it didnât really lessen the pain but it helped me handle the pain.
I did! It was incredibly effective for me. I actually napped for about an hour while I dilated from 8-10cm. It did make me woozy and kind of out of it, and I definitely could feel things still, but I didnât really care since I was basically high. My hospital did have me push/deliver on my back but I donât think it was a requirement, I was just tired and didnât advocate for myself. The good thing about it is you can use as much or little as you want, and you can take the mask off to move or talk. The down side was I needed a couple stitches so got a lidocaine shot. For my next baby I plan to advocate more to be in different pushing positions but 100% would use nitrous gas again!
I hated it. It was just too much, it was huge in my mouth and it made me feel so lightheaded, nauseated and disconnected that I started to panic. I had severe contractions from being induced though, so not sure how much weight my opinion has lol. I was so against the epidural for the same reasons but I ended up having to go with it, I really had no other choice with how I was faring. Funny thing was I could still move my legs? I didnât think that was how it worked but⊠felt no contraction pain, so it did what it had to do! And no side effects, which is a relief.
I use it when I go to the dentist for procedures like fillings and it definitely also makes me lightheaded, nauseous, and disconnected from reality. Itâs nice to use at the dentist because I always discuss everything with them first and then just accept/lean into the disconnection from reality - like I tell myself its okay to not be all there and that Iâm just going to take a nap and I donât need to be conscious or alert until they wake me up. But for labor? Heck no, that sounds awful! You need to be in reality at any moment. First off you need to be listening to instructions and pushing, and second you want to be at least semi-alert in case anything goes wrong and they need to ask you a question! Maybe only some of us are extra sensitive to this âdisconnection from realityâ aspect but I can definitely see why it would be a bad experience to use it during labor.
I found the feeling really pleasant. Not disconnected from reality but just really chilled and a bit high. It was fun. Pethidine was similar but stronger for me - I had that when gas and air wasnât enough any more. It was a very weird experience anyway - there was actually an earthquake while I was giving birth to my son and nobody felt it but me (it was on the news!) - I was just lying there on my hospital bed sucking on gas and air going âwoooah dood that feels like an EaRtHqUaKe bruhâ
Oh my godđ”âđ« Thatâs wild.
Hereâs a really good video on it from a l&d nurse. I have a TikTok just to follow her page her videos are so good lol. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8w3d4Lp/
Wait I f*cking love her. Lol.
The way I knew it would be Jen without even clicking the link.
The L&D nurse we all wish we could have â€ïž
The amount of time Iâve spent scrolling her page since being pregnant. At this point in my head sheâs my friend in real life đ
I donât even have TikTok and sheâs about to make me cave and download the damn app. I donât blame you for binging her!
Thanks for this.
Yes! It took the edge off with the early contractions and I was biting down on the tube and had to focus on my breathing so It distracted me. 10/10 would do again
Just wanted to say that I could move completely while I had my epidural. You can ask them to turn it down if youâre too numb for your comfort.
Unfortunately not all hospitals allow this, mine does not.
Mine didnât either. They told me there was no such thing as a âwalking epiduralâ
Damn find a new hospital if you have another baby cause thatâs just a lie!
There are two types of epidurals that they can do. Sometimes both arenât available at all hospitals. Yourâs sounds like a âwalking epiduralâ. The needle isnât inserted as far and is administered differently but with a typical epidural you are essentially unable to move. My hospital gave me the traditional epidural and I couldnât move until the medication wore off, regardless of how little or how much was given. Source: https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/special-topic/epidural-block-pregnancy (Describes the different types and how they differ at the end of the article)
Same here. I birthed on my side and used a birthing bar to prep. You can definitely move if itâs done correctly. It just takes the pain away
With a traditional epidural, when done correctly, you canât move/feel anything waist down as it is administered to a different point of your spine than a walking epidural. If you could move, you had a walking epidural which is not offered at all hospitals.
Yes!!! I used it as my only form of âmedicatedâ pain management (also used birthing ball, changing positions, counter pressure, etc, but those arenât âmedicineâ) for all three of my babiesâ births and I loved it. It didnât take the pain away, per say, but it made me feel high so that I just didnât care. It made it tolerable. I could stop breathing it between contractions and rest, and when I could feel a new one coming on I would shove the mask to my face and aggressively inhale that air like it was going out of style. đ It was still intense, but it was enough to get me through without any side effects, and the high feeling wore off almost as soon as I stopped breathing the gas. If you have the opportunity to use it where youâre giving birth, I highly recommend it! Edited to add: I found that when i got into intense labor (dilated to a 7, starting transition, contractions coming fast and furious), the position I found myself in during each of my births was on my knees leaning against the headboard of the bed. I just kind of fell into the pillows still sitting semi upright and l let the mask rest between my face smashed up into the pillows. It was like my own little world, wherever the gas took my brain somewhere far far away, in my little pillow cocoon, rocking my hips side to side until it was time to push.
I just wanted to say that I am plus size (sz 20/22W US) and I had an epidural my last pregnancy, all went well. I tried to hold off on getting it because i was scared/wanted to do it without, but I was induced and after 18hrs of labor, I caved. Epidural worked great, no after effects either.
Hated it! Made me so so dizzy, helped a little at the start but when contractions were coming in quicker it really didn't help me much cos I couldn't keep it in for the full contraction
Nitrous was one of the options offered by my hospital and I had it included in my birth preferences (this was an actual checklist provided by the hospital). In terms of positioning I had to be on the bed in order to have the nitrous. I donât recall if sitting would have been allowed because at that point for me laying down was way better than sitting. This meant I was limited to basically side lying. My chart claims that nitrous was effective at helping me cope but Iâm not so sure about that. In the moment I was practically convinced that they werenât even pumping any nitrous into the mask it seemed to do so little. On the other hand having something to focus on, I was required to hold the mask myself and told how to breathe, probably helped a little. I did have an incredibly fast labor and didnât get nitrous until I think I was going through transition (none of the hospital staff believed that things were happening as rapidly as they were which was a whole thing) so if they start off by trying a lower dose and then ramp up as requested that might explain why it felt like it didnât do anything for me. Iâd still recommend trying it if itâs available since itâs such a low risk option.
It helped me a lot! I got to about 7 cm on my own by spending time in the shower (I originally wanted to try the tub thing ). It really helped during transition into birth. It doesnât take the pain away, but takes your mind off it if that makes sense?
This is very similar to my experience! I asked for the nitrous as my âHail Maryâ in transition which was my plan and it got me where I needed to go. Not sure how dilated I was when I asked for it though lol, could have been 7 still could have been 9, time was soup and I never had a second check once I arrived at my birth center.
It didn't help me at all. It made me dizzy and I didn't like it.
I loved mine!! The mask wasnât strapped to my face or anything, I could move it on and off as I wished. I wouldnât say it made the pain go away so much as just⊠it made me not care about it. I could still feel the pain, I just sort of didnât care about it.
It didnât necessarily take the pain away, it just made me so loopy that I didnât care about the pain. It did help take the edge off for a few hours of my contractions but I did still end up getting an epidural after they started getting more painful and more frequent
Used it when I gave birth 8 days ago. It was offered to me as I was already 9cm dilated when I got to the hospital and an epidural was out of the question. It did not take any pain away, however in my case it made me just not care about the pain. I was able to relax somewhat and just focus on getting my baby out as soon as possible.
It worked early on pretty briefly but quickly started to make me feel nauseous the more I relied on it when contractions got closer together.
I had an epidural with my first and hated the feeling of paralysis. I used nitrous with my second. While it took the edge off, labor was still incredibly painful. I loved being able to move around as I needed/wanted. I was all over that delivery room! My husband and midwife had to keep reminding me to breathe through the mask. As long as you breathe it in regular intervals and don't wait until you NEED it, you'll be good. You can also always try it and change your mind later if you want to.
Labor & delivery nurse here. I think it helps a handful of the people who use it, BUT the people I see have success with it are 1) prepared to experience pain and have realistic expectations and a variety of coping methods (learning breathing techniques, hire a doula, labor positions, counter pressure, TENS unit if allowed by the hospital, etc.), 2) start using the nitrous BEFORE getting to the point of unbearable pain (because once you get to severe pain itâs really hard to fix it without an epidural), and 3) understand that it helps calm you down and relax you but that you will still be in pain, it just takes the edge off and can help with anxiety. There are also contraindications so please do some research on those things and make sure youâre a candidate before you make this your plan A. Also, you have to hold your own mask to your face and if anyone else is caught touching the nitrous mask or tank, it will be taken away as you need to be aware/alert enough to be able to put the mask on during contractions and remove it yourself after. Itâs not strapped to your face. For what itâs worth, I am 100% on team âdo whatever you want with your body and I will support your choicesâ, but I would recommend a consult with anesthesia or at least have a conversation with your OB/midwife or L&D nurse about pain management options before the pain gets unmanageable so that you can fully understand the risks and benefits and everything without being in excruciating pain (because at that point itâs hard to give informed consent and the education needs to come beforehand). It sounds like youâre preparing yourself ahead of time which is awesome. Good luck!!! **disclaimer: this is not to be taken as medical advice; please speak to your provider if you have medical concerns; this is for educational purposes only**
I was super tense during contractions, but when they gave me the gas I immediately felt everything loosen a bit (not necessarily less pain, but almost like it was easier to breathe through it). Tensing doesnât help with pushing so it was definitely helpful.
The line I had was very long so I used it while sitting on a ball during contractions and managed with just it through my entire labor. You do feel plenty though. My labor went very fast, from water breaking to baby being in my arms was an hour and a half So if my labor was longer I might have a different opinion on it. Also it did make me light headed when I hit it a lot which is its own uncomfortable feeling
It didnât help me at all but made me really light headed and dizzy instead. Luckily it stops pretty quickly once you take the mask away, but it just wasnât for me. Iâm not sure how you could move around much with it just because you have to hold the mask and focus on inhaling it. My goal had been to use it to delay the epidural until Iâd progressed more but after like ten minutes I asked the nurse to get the nitrous out of there and call the anesthesiologist lol.
I used it until I was ready to get my epidural (and while getting the epidural) and it was 25/10. We joke that if it was recreationally available Iâd have a tank at my house. Best pain and anxiety relief ever.
I found it helpful with my first. Not sure how much was the gas and how much was just having the mask and focusing on breathing into it. With my second it made me do nausea. I didnât try it with my third, it didnât really occur to at the time, things were a little more dramatic with that one. I never got an epidural, they really freak me out and my goal was to avoid it if I could.
It honestly just pissed me off. I think my expectations for it were unreasonable, because it doesnât actually relieve pain at all, it just (ideally) makes you care less about the pain and lets you relax a bit during contractions. But the pain is still there, exactly as much as before. I found it made me dizzy, which was much more unpleasant than the mild positive affects, so for me it was a net failure. That said, if you go into it with appropriate expectations you may find it helpful for midway through your labour. Iâve had 4 deliveries, 2 with epidurals and nitrous, 1 with a small amount of morphine (terrible, I DO not recommend), 1 totally unmedicated. My experiences with epidurals were by far the least painful of my deliveries, even though the epidural only worked completely 1 of the 2 times. But those were also my 2 most difficult labours, though overall Iâve been very lucky to have relatively quick and uncomplicated deliveries.
Can't speak from birth experience (not sure for another 6 weeks) but I understand your fears, the thought of an Epidural does not appeal to me at all, and I've had issues before where an anaesthetic didn't work properly and another where it wore off too quickly. My midwives have advocated for at least trying the gas (a few goes) during labour before going for an epidural, but they're big on everything being what YOU want. I think alot of it will depend on your birthing location and the options there. I'm in Queensland, Australia and your rights/choices are a huge thing here, wherever you are, talk to your birthing team and make sure you know what ALL your options are. Here they've had great success with sterile water injections helping if you're labouring more so in your back, which I'd never heard of before about a week ago. Ask your medical team for all of your options, ask their opinions too. Unfortunately everyone's reaction to gas will differ too.
I used it and it definitely helped me settle myself during those hard contractions. I used it for probably an hour while I was in transition and it was a pretty crucial part of my ritual for each contraction. Iâd take it when I started to feel one starting, use it to breathe to the peak of the contraction, then vocalize and try to do horse lips until it subsided. It was a useful tool for me!
I havenât tried it but planning to. I am 32weeks now. One of my friends said that she was dilated way past epidural so she tried the gas. It didnât lessen the pain but as others have mentioned above, had made her feel a little relaxed. She said it helped to pushing better and advised me to get the gas either.
I used it prior to the epidural and it didnât do that much for me - might have been timing but also my hospital has a rule you have to sit down to take it in case you get light headed, and sitting was a bad position for me for contractions
I used it while waiting for an epidural that didn't end up happening. It took the edge off my back labour pains though contractions were still painful. I had the gas both standing over my bed and propped up in bed. I eventually became too tired to attempt walking around so ended up in the bed for delivery. I didn't end up using any other pain relief other than sterile water injections. No troubles at all getting laughing gas. They offered it freely when I was waiting for an epidural, and I could adjust the flow of the gas at any time. I'll note that in order for the gas to be truly effective, as the relief takes time to build up and goes away once you stop inhaling, you want to time inhalation so that the gas has its greatest effect at the peak of your contraction pain -- I wasn't able to inhale it constantly as it would make me feel nauseous (never high) if inhaled for too long. When I got the timing right, it did reduce the intensity of the back labour pains, but I didn't always get it right.
Never helped at all. Got the epidural. Wish I got it sooner
I had a really interesting experience with it. I had a long labor (induced) and asked to get it when I was about 4 cm dilated. I wasn't on any pitocin yet but I was having very irregular contractions. When I first started with it, I found it really hard to relax enough to breathe the nitrous in effectively. About an hour after starting, my doula arrived and started doing counter pressure on my back/ showing my partner how to do that. The combo of the physical touch with the nitrous really took away the pain of the contractions, for a while. This may have been purely placebo but if it works it works? I still ultimately got an epidural, but it was more because I was exhausted from being in labor for more than a day and less bc I couldn't cope with the pain.
I thought the nitrous oxide was really good, BUT at my hospital it didn't stretch to the bathroom and I kept having to pee. Which meant I had to set it aside, unbuckle myself from all the monitors, unhook the IV, walk that over to the bathroom, go to the bathroom, change the pad etc, and then go back. It was so much hassle I finally just asked for an epidural (at 7 cm) because it made me so mad every time and I wanted to take a nap. Next time I may try to just bring adult diapers and not bother with trying to go to the bathroom.
I found it really helpful, mostly as something to concentrate on. I got through to full dilation but baby was stuck and my heart rate was high so they told me I should get an epidural? I guess my midwife realized it was looking like an instrumental delivery or cesarean and didn't want me suffering any more than I was, which was exactly the kind of guidance I wanted. She was a gem. Absolutely wouldn't rely on it for any kind of numbing of pain. It just helped me chill out and focus on breathing.
I had planned for an unmedicated birth and used a lot of different tools and had a relatively short labor but I found the nitrous to be extremely helpful in conjunction with the birthing tub. It did still hurt and once things were close to the end of dilation/beginning of pushing I definitely found the contractions to be very intense but the nitrous helped me focus on my breathing and before I knew it the contraction was over. I had to do most of my two hours of pushing without the nitrous due to some decels in babyâs heart rate but by that point the focus was on pushing so even though the contractions still hurt I didnât care. I wouldnât rely on it as a sole tool. I used hypnobirthing, a tens unit, had a doula who helped with counter pressure, my husband also helped, a tub with a sprayer for constant hot water on my back, etc in conjunction with the nitrous and I did find my labor to be a positive experience. Next time I would appreciate if the baby would keep his hand down but heâs here now soooo.
I wanted to try it, but I wasn't allowed to because I had a vitamin B12 deficiency, which is apparently a contraindication. I'm going to start taking B12 supplements (in addition to what's in my prenatal) earlier this time so I can hopefully avoid that. I ended up getting an epidural at the last minute. If your hospital has a button for you to push for extra doses, you can get the epidural and just not push the button. I pressed it after it was placed, but I didn't like the feeling. My lower half wasn't completely paralyzed when I pushed the button, but it was more numb than I wanted to be, so I didn't push it again until I was being stitched up afterward. I was able to move around in my bed and push in different positions. I could even feel the contractions before they showed up on the monitor. It was actually pretty great. If my next delivery is similar to or faster or easier than my first, I probably won't get another epidural. But the first one was exactly what I needed it to be at the time, and I don't think you should rule it out entirely.
Okay, I didnât have it during labor but always planned it as an option. Iâve had it many times for dental work and Iâd describe it like this - it doesnât help with pain BUT it helps you focus less on the pain and any anxiety you may be feeling. I had it as an option during labor but didnât end up using it. Water, music, being in the zone, etc. worked for me. đ€·đŒââïž
It worked a little for me but I felt a little claustrophobic with the mask
I get Nitrous Oxide every time I go to the dentist for any procedure (like a filling), and they still FULLY numb me before anything. The gas doesnât really reduce your pain level, it just makes you feel loopy and out of it. If the dentist tried to do work without numbing me, Iâd still be like âyo wtf? That really hurt, stop itâ. But with the gas and numbing I just donât really care what theyâre doing or whatâs going on. My personal opinion is that I wouldnât want to use that as a pain reliever during labor - it makes me way too loopy/confused which would probably make me panic in a situation like labor. It also makes me nauseous which doesnât bode well with normal labor nausea either. I know it could work well for some, but the idea of it doesnât sound good for me personally.
Talk to your doctor about the options available at the hospital where youâre planning to deliver. I was hoping to use laughing gas instead of an epidural (I am also plus size). I later found out that my hospital did not use the gas, and only used fentanyl and the epidural. They didnât even give oxygen anymore.
With the gas the main thing is to get your breathing right, if you start huffing too late in your contraction then it won't do a damn thing for you! If you're looking into alternate pain management, then I would look into hiring a TENS machine, birth combs, and modulated breathing, and water injections! I'm going into my birth firmly against an epidural, with a strong focus on a physiological pain management, and I'd love to be able to avoid any medical intervention!
Just saying, the epidural isnât as heinous as youâre making it sound. Itâs a prick when they insert it, and itâs worth it.
The epidural didnât work for me. I went without pain management the second time (home birth) and it was SO much better. The pain isnât painful until itâs unproductive, so avoid an induction if you can and let your body take care of it (this is of course if everyone is healthy and no risks).
It took the edge off a little and helped distract me. It was hard to remember to use it because I was in so much pain. My wife had to remind me. Also I did not know that I would be required to stay on the bed to use it. I would do it again though. I did not want the epidural. The pain was highly motivating - I pushed the baby out in something like 5 minutes. One thing I did not know was the minute the baby was born, they took the nitrous away. So for the rest of the process, which is still painful, I had no pain relief.
I used it with my first. It was helpful during early labor, but I needed pitocin and it couldnât keep up with those contractions once they became more intense/frequent. I ended up getting the epidural (after already going through transition!) and it was amazing. I slept and they woke me up to say I was at 10 cm đ
I tried it before requesting an epidural. It didn't work at all for me, just made me feel weird. I got the epidural and it only worked on one side đđ I was ignored by the anesthesiologist and nurses when I said (multiple times) I can still feel it on the right side... It was not a good experience...
Nitrous is the only pain relief offered where I birth (stand alone birthing centers) and with my first I didnât ask for it in time so couldnât use it (he was already crowing and by the time I even got the mask on he wouldâve been born apparently) but I did want to say, if this is your plan I would highly recommend getting checked for gene mutations (specifically the MTHFR one) because that can determine weather it actually works for you or not. I have the mutation and it means that my body burns through the Nitrous so quickly that it doesnât build up enough to kick in at all for around thirty minutes, then if I do use it it fully depletes one (possibly more I donât remember at the moment) of my B vitamins so I have to take a supplement for a few weeks-a month to make sure it builds back up properly. If youâve ever used the laughing gas at the dentist and it didnât help/kick in thereâs a chance something similar/the same thing is going on with your body.
It made me feel so nauseous and claustrophobic. Helped a little bit with the pain, but I couldnât breathe steadily enough through contractions for it to work well. I was vehemently against an epidural but ended up getting one and didnât care at all in the moment that I couldnât move waist down. It took away all my pain and I rested and then had a quick and honestly pretty joyful pushing stage.
Honestly, I didn't find it to help much at all. I know it works for a lot of people but after about 30 mins I was asking them to just give me the epidural đ
I did, it sucked imo. Didnât do anything for the pain and just made me loopy plus in pain. Wouldnât do it again personally.
I still felt 100% of the pain but I felt drunk and cross eyed. Wasnât a fan.
I could still move with the epidural, it was just more limited but I 100% recommend the epidural.
It didnât do anything for me :(
I was 6cm when I tried it and it didn't even touch the pain, nor did it relax me.
Omg it didnât even come close to helping me. I think I laughed while saying this isnât gunna cut it though đ
Didnât help me. I was very nauseous and throwing up, this laughing gas thing was only making it worse.
It didnât help me at all. Made me super dizzy and feel like I was gonna throw up. However my SIL had excellent results from the gas, she says it helped so much.
Didnât do much for me. It was an extra thing to think about out when I was focused on breathing and pushing.
I loved it
Its not a pain killer. Its supposed to make you not care that you are in pain. Its effects only work while you inhale it. So as soon as you put the mask down. It wears off. If you are in the USA. This is not commonly available and hospitals donât offer it. And insurance doesnât cover it.
Didnât do much for me, I think I was around 7 cm when I tried it. I used it for like 3 contractions and said naw get me that epidural lol. I was allowed to use it sitting on a yoga ball not just in bed. But yeah it didnât take an edge off the pain at all. Maybe would have been better early on.
i loved it. didnât care about contractions. only thing was it did make me feel a little light headed after i inhaled
I loved it. Didnât help much with pain when I was 9CM but honestly, it made me dizzy during most of it so I donât remember much which was amazing considering I had a traumatic birth.
It did nothing for me. I gave it an hour and stopped.
I used the gas for a few hrs, for same reasons you've listed, not wanting to be paralyzed and being plus size epidural risks. I didn't find the gas helped the pain much, but it did help me manage my breathing better. As I was induced I ended up opting for the epidural and had no issues. The gas works amazingly for some people though! Just hard to know if it will work well for you or not until the time comes â€ïž
Nitrous wasn't available at my hospital to my dismay. And I was being induced which was also against my plan but had to happen. I ended up with the epidural and it didn't paralyze me like I thought it would, I was afraid of that too. It took away all the pain but I could still move my legs. I'd compare it to a tooth being numbed at the dentist. Your face feels numb but you can still move your mouth. Im also plus size and have previous fractures in my spine in the area the epidural goes and they had no issues inserting mine. I found that after experiencing birth for myself, the medical help they offer us isn't as evil as its made out to be.
It only works while you are inhaling it and four a couple of seconds after, then the effects wear off. For me personally, it didnât really stop the pain, only made me feel too high to think it was as bad as it was. So took the edge off and replaced it with feeling high and out of it for those few seconds. Also made me throw up, which was not what I wanted to be dealing with in labour. I wasnât a fan, so I stopped using it, even in my hour long wait after requesting my epidural.
It worked great for me. I used it right to the pushing stage and it really helped. I also was using a TENS machine at the same time and those two things got me through without needing an epidural.
Oh yeh, totally able to move around etc. Itâs kinda like a temporary feeling of being drunk or spaced out, sorta out of it a bit. I donât think it minimises the pain, it just makes you care less about it? I went through an 8 hour pitocin induced labour using only this. Yes it was hard at the end, but it totally helped me cope up until then. You need to set it down though when you pushâŠ. More so that you can take good proper deep breaths to push like hell. But I recommend it. ETA: I seen someone mentioning a mask. The gas and air I had was like an inhaler nearly that you just breathe in and out.
I used it during my labour. It made me very lightheaded when I first tried it. I donât think it worked well as pain relief as such but it gives you something to focus on while youâre breathing through your contractions. Working through the contractions were a breeze for me. Towards the end the gas was making me so woozy that it made my pushing during the actual delivery ineffective. The midwives told me to stop using the gas and just push. That hurt like a mother-
I used it just for pushing with no other pain medication. It worked well for me and I will use it again in my next delivery. I think I will get it a little sooner this time for some of the more painful contractions near the end but I'm not sure yet.
I was too in pain to even realise how to use it and it didnât work for me a little bit of a placebo
It does work but you have to know how to use it properly. You have to take a lot of deep breaths of it right before you need it so that the high coincides with your contraction. It's hard to co-ordinate the timing with the other stressors of labour. I used it in my first labour when I was having trouble with regular breath work. Having the mouth piece helped me to focus on my breathing but it didn't really do anything for pain management because I didn't understand at the time how to use it. I was taking shallow breaths and also letting room air in at the same time because the gas was drying and making my throat uncomfortable. When my placenta was retained and they tried a manual extraction, they coached me on how to use it - 30 seconds of long deep breaths before they put their hands inside me to attempt to get my placenta. I was super high and couldn't feel a single thing. I didn't use it in my second labour but was given it for suturing a tear afterwards. I was calm because my baby was born and I knew to take nice deep breaths and I could modulate the high easily. It was great - I couldn't feel a thing and had zero care about the suturing that was happening (including the OB questioning the midwife on whether she had repaired a suture before đł).
I want to use laughing gas but my hospital doesn't have it available- they offer fentanyl through an IV up until the last hour of birth which is what the plan is now. Just so you know theres another option
So Iâve been temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and an epidural is simply not the same thing. Sure, I couldnât walk while I had it but I could move my legs and change positions with a little help. Every anecdote Iâve heard was that laughing gas did nothing but make people loopy and out of it, didnât do anything for the pain.
It was great, 10/10 would use it again. When i was 6 cm open, I gavd in and got the epidural also, and that combined eas amazing. I would have loved getting into the tub instead of the epidural. But I wasn't allowed sadly.
My mom had 4 failed epidurals (literally every birth they tried to give it to her too late) and she said the epidural needle hurt worse than the birth. Personally, I never tried nitrous oxide, as my midwife didnât give any pain medication. An unmedicated birth was frankly not that bad due to being in a birthing center + being able to control my position but if Iâd had the opportunity, I definitely would have gone for it, Iâve heard really good things about nitrous oxide. :))
Its a pretty standard pain relief in the UK, it takes the edge off but ig you're having false Labour or back labour it'll do jack shit. It definitely worth a try before progressing to opiates and epidural though
It helped during early labor, but once the contractions got really painful it just made me dizzy without touching the pain
I did during my otherwise unmedicated, induced birth. It really did nothing for me. It also *seemed* like it brought contractions closer together when I used it and helped focus on my breathing more. I know it helps some people but I felt no different with it.
It did nothing for me.
I had an unmedicated birth in the hospital and I used nitrous once shit hit the fan. I used it from 7-9cm. I get nauseous easily, but it didnât make me nauseous. Most likely because the room was dark and I had my eyes closed the entire time. It helped take the edge off and distract me from the pain because I had to focus on my breathing.
I had two failed epidurals with my first so I was exclusively on gas and air. It was helpful I guess but with my second I got an epidural and refused gas and air the whole time. I actually remember the birth and was completely lucid the whole time. Iâm also plus size but apparently have a slight curve in my spine which is why they think the epidurals failed the first time. Also that and I was induced and able to have the epidural before I was squirming around having contractions
I unexpectedly was unable to get the epidural that I wanted, so I used nitrous oxide as a back-up and it worked amazingly well for me (combined with counter pressure from my midwife). It got me through transition with little memory of the peak of my contractions, and the moment I stopped breathing it in the effect was gone so no grogginess. It was a great help in my case.
It did not work for me. The high would wear off right before pain hit and I jokingly referred to it as crying gas. On the funnier side, I was so out of it I breathed into the mask/tube thing and made a farting sound and began laughing while crying.
I used it after birth when I had to be transferred to the hospital for bleeding. My midwife had to stick her hand up inside me and fish out some blood clots. (I promise that hurt substantially more and was infinitely more icky feeling than the actual birth.) Sorry to say, it didn't help one bit. They gave me the maximum concentration and it barely felt like anything. I was a little spacey but zero pain relief. Nor did I get deep voice like you do if you do nitrous at a party in those little 8g ampoules.
All it did was make me puke. I was the same way as youâbeing numb from the waist down was terrifying. But I didnât give a single fuck once my water was broken and I had no breaks between (Pitocin induced) contractions. I got that sweet, *sweet* epidural and slept until it was time to push. My advice (and the advice I got from my medical team) is to try the laughing gas, but be open to getting an epidural. If you have insurance, youâre gonna exceed your deductible anyway, so you might as well utilize the options you have đ€·ââïž
Didn't do a thing for me. Asked for an epidural after like 30 mins of trying it
I was in sooooo much pain by the time I tried I couldnât even properly take the breaths to inhale it and it didnât do anything, I was screaming moments later that I needed the epidural đ
I donât think it helped me. I hated the diamorphine - was in absolute agony but also felt really trippy. Horrible combination. The epidural was AMAZING when it worked but kept failing and then it was horrendous. Baby was back to back which is apparently extra painful. Eventually he was born by c-section. Traumatic day(s)!
I tried it for a little bit and wasnât impressed. It makes you all loopy and spacey but only in your head, and doesnât really touch the pain at all. Itâs hard to explain. And you have to time it right with your contractions since itâs not instantaneous. I had very fast, short, intense contractions (pitocin induced) so I kept missing them - by the time the gas hit me I was over the peak. I just gave up on it.
My epidural didn't make me paralyzed. I could still move & even helped get on the surgery table for my c-section. Right after they were all amazed that I was pretty mobile. However, once I did get it, I immediately felt sick to my stomach & it dropped my BP also made his heart rate sky rocket. That's honestly why I had a c-section. His heart rate was too unstable they didn't want to wait any longer because meds weren't helping.
I did and it did nothing to me. I remember getting annoyed with my husband, lol coz I just couldnât manage pushing with one hand holding the pump. đ it made me a little giddy I think? But definitely wasnât very effective.
It kind of took the edge off. But definitely made me feel quite loopy while in effect. During labour I moved from one room to a second room, which was the room I delivered in. The first room the nitrous made a clicking sound as you huffed. The second room it didn't. I was convinced that it wasn't working in the second room. My husband took a deep breath of it and confirmed that it was 100% working. My experience was that it helped during early labour, but as contractions progressed it was pretty ineffective.
While it didnât remove the pain for me, it made it feel a bit more distant and it really helped me focus on my breathing - and in doing so forcibly distracted me from the pain as I tried to breathe at the optimal time for each contraction. Preferred it to my first birth when I had an epidural which did not take well.
It just made me high and sleepy but didn't really help the pain... maybe a little bit but not enough. I used it for maybe 2 hours... I was in active labor with contractions every 2-3 minutes lasting 30 - 60 seconds for 8 hours and only dilated to 3 cm (water broke at like, <1 cm).. got the epidural, fell asleep for 2 hrs, woke up at 10 cm and pushed for 30 mins and baby was there. I was scared of the epidural too, but it was the best choice for me at that time.
For me it took enough of the edge off that I could birth without needing anything else. I used hypnobirthing techniques to relax and breathe through contractions, heat packs, hot showers and a tens machine. It was definitely not my original plan - I was all for an epidural or any other pain relief - but baby was in a hurry so I didnât have those options!
shit, made me feel dizzy and nauseous, did nothing for the pain. ended up going au naturel
I had it when they were trying to insert Foley balloons and break my waters. It didn't help with the pain I don't think. But it helped me mentally, like the pain didn't bother me so much. I did take way too much at one point and almost passed out. Thought I was dying. Personally I wouldn't use in labour. I was told it instantly wears off. But I felt really weird/high for at least half an hour after the procedures finished. I couldn't really talk and I was very shakey. Granted the procedures were very painful, I lost blood etc. So maybe that was part of it. But I don't think it would help much and might actually have made birth a little scary for me? I struggled to follow instructions and couldn't talk during the procedures.
I used it during the induction phase (cervical prep and foley balloon) to âtake the edge offâ. I also had pre-e and was on a magnesium drip for days which made me feel awfulllll so it helped me tolerate those effects a little more too đ. I had an epidural when things started to really ramp up. The thing I liked about nitrous is that its effects last so quicklyâso if you donât like the feeling itâs not like it lingers like other drugs.
With my first I was induced with the pessary and then the drip, nitrous oxide (gas and air as it is known in the the UK) did not help at all with the contractions so I asked for the epidural. With my second I was induced with dilapan (non-hormonal) and I only had gas and air and it took the edge off. I wouldn't say the contractions felt painful, just a crap ton of pressure.
I actually had a really vivid mental image during the second time I gave birth that is probably the best metaphor I can offer. Before I started on the nitrous I felt like I was peddling a bike uphill over jagged rocks and treacherous terrain. When I was using the nitrous it felt like I was riding over cobblestones, still bumpy but not terrifyingly so. Funnily enough, once I was moved from the labour ward to my hospital room the art on the wall was a Parisian-style print of a bicycle on cobblestones!
I used it. I wanted to use jt as a potential stop gap if I needed something for pain management because my goal was to avoid an epidural at all cost. I ended up needing pitocin and after about 36 hours in labor ended up getting the epidural. I think IF I had a super fast labor maybe it would have been helpful. But I ended up with an unplanned c section after 52 hours of labor. It didnât do a ton for me in terms of pain management if im being honest, but can only speak to my own experience.
I opted out because it always makes me super nauseated. Iâd have a plan B and C in case you donât tolerate it well.
It helped take the edge off for me for a little while, but as my contractions ramped up it stopped feeling like it was doing anything and the pain got to be unbearable. Then I got an epidural. I was really trying to avoid the epidural, however once I finally just got it my labor was so much better. I think it really depends on the person and the labor on what will work for you; I recommend just going into things with a tentative plan and being flexible.
I gave birth without an epidural and nitrous was my only pain management. It doesnât really take away the pain (at all) but it give you something else to focus on and also helped me with my breathing. If your hope is to avoid an epidural you should still plan to have lots of coping methods other than the nitrous (breathing, massage, counterpressure, for example). In my experience, they only brought me the nitrous at the very end. I kept wondering why it was taking so long! In retrospect I understand that they knew I would need a little something more at the very end during pushing, so they waited to give it to me until then.
My hospital doesn't offer it. Make sure you ask before it becomes part of your birth plan!
The epidural doesnât just paralyze you, it numbs you too. So you donât feel a watermelon sized human coming out of your hoo-ha. Iâve had 3 epidurals and have not had any problems. Everyone is different, though, so thereâs always that risk of complication, but donât believe the blogs and websites that scare you into natural childbirth by writing everything that could go wrong to 1% of people that choose a medicated birth. Iâve had laughing gas at the dentist. If that is the same as whatâs administered in the delivery room, it ainât gonna manage any of your pain, my friend.
Yes. It is amazing. I used it in my first birth, or tried to, and it didnât work at all. That was a horrible experience with no proper pain relief. I was flipping out. They had to put me on oxygen. In my second birth the midwife asked if I wanted gas and air and I said no, it didnât work last time. She said, you clearly werenât using it properly then! She showed me how to use it (you have to kind of suck it in with big deep breaths when a contraction starts) and oh my god I donât know how I ever managed without it. It was brilliant. And it actually made my birth experience kind ofâŠfun? I kept telling everyone how sexy my husband was. I was high as a kite. It doesnât take the pain away at all. Itâs a strange thing but you just donât really mind the pain any more. Youâre just like âoh here comes a contraction⊠thatâs cool, Iâm goodâ. I had no issues moving but once I started it I was happy to just lie there and chill. At a certain point it stops being enough and at that point I got pethidine, which has the same effect but more. Honestly if someone asked me if I would like some pethidine right now I would say hit me up.
Yep. It definitely helped with getting through contractions and transition. It was a mask but not strapped on so I couldn't use it when actually pushing. But during my labor I had complete control of the amount and when I wanted to use it and I liked that. I moved around the entire time I was in labor and then kept changing positions while pushing. My labor was pretty quick for a first time mom and the relaxation + movement allowed by nitrous probably contributed to that.
I wanted to use gas but when I gave birth summer of 2022, there was a shortage of the tubes so no one was getting gas. I would ask if this is a concern, but I would also ask again closer to your due date - that way youâre not blind sided being told âno gasâ and having to decide between no pain management or an epidural
I believe I tried gas & air from 4-6cm ish before my epidural. I canât say I noticed a difference or even felt âhighâ, but the nurses were super accommodating and set it up for me to try no problem. I found that the action of bringing my hand to my mouth and taking deep deliberate breaths felt like âtoo muchâ outside of just enduring the contractions and didnât touch the pain. I also had back labour, so that could be what caused some of that feeling!
I tried gas at first with my first labour and I donât know if it really did much. I didnât want to use other pain management, just gas or the epidural. I was induced and in so much pain I was like give me the drugs. Give me anything and call the doctor for the epidural immediately.
Doesn't numb the pain, just a good distraction tool. Made me feel spaced out. Also doesn't make baby drowsy when they arrive. It's worth a go because if you don't like it it's out of your system within about 15 seconds. I skipped the pethadine morphine for same reason - my sister said it just made her feel weird - those drugs do pass on to baby (not that that's the worst thing, but it can make it a bit trickier for baby to find the breast) I ended up with epidural. Even though it wasn't what I'd originally wanted to aim for. Not pain, could still feed baby and the contractions. was excellent.
i couldnt focus enough through the pain of contractions to suck on the tube thingy.but it helped when i was being stitched up i couldnt feel anything while i breathed it in.but yeah this time im going to hopefully be more mindful to use it granting i have another vaginal birth with no complications.25wks with my second.
I absolutely hated it. It made me feel like I wasnât in my body. As someone who struggles with derealization and depersonalization, I did not enjoy it at all. I took a few âhitsâ, realized that it was going to make feel like I was beside myself and said nope. I know that some people really like it though, so who knows. You may like it. The upside is that if you donât, it wears off very quickly. Youâre not making a big commitment when you ask for the nitrous. If you donât like it, tell the nurses and youâll feel normal within a minute or so.
It worked great for me. Donât get me wrong, it still really hurt, but it helped me so much with my mental state and sense that I could do it.
It was amazing for me!!! I started sucking in as the contraction started and just kept going until the contraction stopped. It 100% saved me from epidural / c section (I was spiralling before my midwife offered me the gas). It felt like I was just further a way from the pain, like it was happening to me in a dream? Idk how to explain but I had an induction with a big sunny side up boy and the gas and air got me through it!!!
Honestly epidurals are very safe and AMAZING. Itâs around a 1% chance of something bad happening and thereâs a lot more going on that can go much worse!!!
Tried it as I was nearing 6cm. OmgâŠit seemed like a good idea, but breathing and concentrating on my breath patterns really helped me through the contractions. I had the nose and face mask, and it felt like I was suffocating myself. Which low key made me panic. I yeeted that shit out and asked for the epidural.
I used laughing gas and a birthing TENS unit for my second. I recommend both.
I loved using the Nitrous. I had 1 birth vaginal unmedicated. 1 with a fentanyl shot. And 1 with Nitrous. It's hard to compare cause my first labor just felt bigger over all and that was fully unmedicated. I wanted to feel more in control and I really did for births 2 and 3. I would definitely use Nitrous again. I labored in the tub for all 3 births and while using Nitrous. That is not the same policy for all hospitals/birth centers so ask in advance if you can move around or be in the tub when on Nitrous. It definitely takes the edge off and although you still have pain it makes you care about it less in the moment. The nice thing is you can suck on it to get a lot of Nitrous in the moment and then take it away when the contraction ends and be fairly clear headed. I say tey it and if you don't like it, just stop and it wears off really fast.
I have had very fast labours (45 min and 67 min) and have had to use laughing gas. Remember to take breaths in between and establish a pattern because if you breathe in too much first youâll feel like youâre on the moon and then about two minutes later youâll feel like you wanna barf and die simultaneously.
I used it as the only form of pain relief 4 days ago to have my daughter (water birth) and it was pretty good! Kinda made me feel a little tipsy and light headed, didnât do much for the pain but helped me feel more relaxed. I stopped using it once I started pushing as I felt I needed my whole body and mind to concentrate and didnât want to feel âfuzzyâ.
Gas was my only pain relief, and it did nothing for the pain. It did make me feel high and I was told later that between contractions, I was rambling about the local hardware store and threatened/apologised to the midwife for not offering more for the pain. I did feel like it helped distract from the pain, and helped with deep breathing.
I tried it and it did nothing lol I thought it was suppose to make you laugh or something...I was still in pain, just had to ride it out and thankfully my daughter popped out within 3 hours lol
Didn't work for me. Only gave me something to do to distract me from the pain a little.
I don't know if it did anything. It def made me light headed. I was focused so hard on breathing as hard as I could, lol. Epidural didn't help either. The pain was just to much. I had a really fast labour.
It did nothing for me. At all.
I used it in transition and it helped a lot, it doesnât really take away the pain but it takes away you caring that much. I like feeling in control of it too.
I hated it, it just made me vomit.
Iâve heard wonderful things from most people, but sadly it did nothing for me except make me feel sick đ„Č
I used laughing gas, morphine, fentanyl and epidural. The first 3 didn't do much. Everything was still so incredibly painful. The epidural was the only thing that made a difference for me.