The University of California San Francisco Medical Center is one of only three centers in the country that currently offer nitrous oxide to labor patients. According to the report, nitrous oxide may provide pain relief and comfort when the patient prefers to not receive an epidural. Opioid painkillers, which are also available, typically don’t have much effect on labor pain, according to the report.
Hospitals that offer nitrous oxide during labor generally install specialized nitrous oxide equipment in the delivery room that fixes the oxygen-to-nitrous ratio at 50/50. The woman then holds the mask in her hand to control how much anesthetic she receives. Unlike an epidural, nitrous oxide allows women to leave the bed to go to the bathroom if they need to.
Read the ABC News report on nitrous oxide.
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