Gas and air!

[Amherst1994]

Hello ladies!

I'm in the U.S. and am going to deliver with midwives at one of only 2 birthing centers east of the Mississippi to offer gas and air (for the time being. I've been told more and more facilities are going to start offering it). This obviously isn't a hugely practiced option in the states so I haven't been able to talk to any women here who gave birth naturally whilst using gas and air. My birthing center also offers birthing pools.

I am hugely set (as in there is like no other option for me unless there is a crisis) on natural birth with no medical intervention, and it sounds like gas and air is a good compromise with getting some help, but not having to have an epidural. So I definitely am willing to give it a go!

What are your opinions and experiences with gas and air? Did it help you? Did it make you feel sick? I just need some input as I can't find any here in the states!!

 

[Button#]

Loved it, especially when I was getting stitched up afterwards. It didn't make me feel sick at all and it helped me focus my breathing.

 

[ClairAye]

It didn't relieve pain for me but helped me with focusing on my breathing, I just felt crazy drunk in between contractions!

 

[Twinmum87]

I ended up with an emergency section but had to be left to labout as long as possible whilst they got something sorted for the babies as SCBU was full so I had gas and for a couple hours. It did make me feel very sick and dizzy at first but after a couple mins i got used to it and was fine but then during the section i was constantly heaving, not sure if that was down to the gas & air, the spinal or the combination of the two. Tbh I can't remember exactly how it made me feel i just knew i was still in a lot of pain. Next time thou I am hoping to do it with only gas and air because i was as active a labour as possible as active labours usually go a lot smoother, faster and much less likely to need medical intervention than labouring on your back.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

I have never really felt any benefits from it... with my first i mostly used it to bite down on haha. Gave me something to do. It does nothing for the pain for me and i find it a bit "funky" hard to explain... i just don't like it.

With my second I was offered it but just went without. yukkk

 

[SparklesHeart]

I've used it for all three labours and plan to this time. I found long slow deep breaths of it to be helpful, with sips of water inbetween contractions as my mouth felt dry. Also it made me feel drunk, so make sure you're steadied by something. Though that did pass after a few breaths of normal air!!

 

[Eleanor ace]

Gas and air is the best thing ever and my main motivation for having a 3rd child (I'm only half joking...); I told my DH that either we had another child or I would break my leg, so I could get a taste of that sweet stuff . Basically I really like it! I have had 2 vaginal deliveries with gas and air and for me it really helped, it kept me calm and helped me to have enjoyable experiences.

 

[hanni]

It's the best thing ever!

I found it made my labour so much more of a happier & positive experience dispite the fact it was 42 hours long and ended with an emergency ceserean under a general anesthetic. I used it to just get on another planet during all the bits I'd rather forget (examinations and my bladder being emptied for me!) and it really helped.
I also found it extremely difficult to sleep given all that was going on around me but managed to get in a nice dozey state for a few hours just taking little breaths of it. And it definitely takes the edge off the pain!

 

[Perplexed]

It didn't do much in terms of pain relief IMO but it was amazing as it made me feel like the pain was somewhere, and I was somewhere else if it makes sense. So obviously it must have done something. I laughed when pp said it was her motivation for getting pregnant as I often also joke that it is my motivation for having another baby haha.

It didn't make me sick though. I guess some people say it made them sick.

 

[eulmh82]

It helped initially. Gives you a bit of a high. It didn't make me sick but I think the best thing it does is make you breathe deeply and slowly through the contraction. They made me hand it over for the pushing part... Which was three hours long in the end but that's another story!

 

[k4th]

I only had gas & air with dd. I do think it only just took the edge off the pain. It was great to have something to bite down on.

That said - I also remember lying on the bed saying "my hands feel a bit tingly" whilst slurring my words. My midwife was like "riiiigghhht, we might just take your gas and air away for a minute".

I do remember sometimes it felt like I was there in body but my mind was somewhere else - like a pp described. Maybe the detached feeling it what takes the edge off the pain.

I'm coming around to the idea of another birth with only gas & air so it can't have been all that bad

 

[Sarah1508]

I loved it so much I had it for my stitches too! Haha like said above it doesn't get rid of the pain but it makes you feel quite tipsy and just so giggly and happy I actually had to be told on several occasions to keep still while I was getting my stitches as I couldn't help but giggle also it helps with your breathing I found Can't wait to use it again!

Edit: omg yes I just read the above comment about the feeling like you are somewhere else, as I would take deep breaths of the stuff just seconds before a new contraction I would literally feel like I was laying on a sunny beach so much so I could feel the sun warm on my skin, it was bliss haha it would only last for a few seconds before it would slip away and then another contraction would come but seriously it's one thing other then tapping my foot that got me through my labour, all I would think was and actually repeated over and over in my head was "only a few more seconds till paradise" it was a god send!

 

[staralfur]

I didn't find that it helped with the pain at all, and it actually didn't make me feel high or tipsy or anything... maybe they just gave me straight air.

But I did love it because it helped me focus on my breathing when I started to kind of lose it. That was a huge help!

It didn't make me feel sick but I did have an extremely dry throat and dry cough for like 2 weeks after. I have asthma so I'm not sure if that would influence it at all.

 

[emyandpotato]

I had it recently in hospital as I had infectious arthritis in my elbow which was excruciating. I didn't feel like it did much to help in labour except make me feel drunk but having it the second time for something different has given me a new perspective on it. It does definitely help the pain but you have to breathe slowly and deeply and it takes a few minutes to kick in. It won't relieve pain completely but it does make you forget about it and make it much more bearable. It gives you a drunk feeling but you know what's going on so it's not like you're completely tripping out. It doesn't make me feel sick, personally.

Take lip balm and something to sip on, your lips and mouth will be really dry!

 

[macydarling]

This may sound silly but is gas & air the same thing as nitrous oxide? I am also in the states and plan to give birth naturally at a birthing center. They also have the birthing pools. They said the only pain relief they offer is the nitrous oxide--so wondering if that is same as you?

 

[Larkspur]

I used it for both my natural births.

It didn't make me feel drunk or weird, in fact it had no noticeable physical effect on me. I'm not even sure it took the edge off the pain so much as just made me care less about it.

It definitely helped with focussing my breathing, and it was good having something to bite down on.

 

[staralfur]

This may sound silly but is gas & air the same thing as nitrous oxide? I am also in the states and plan to give birth naturally at a birthing center. They also have the birthing pools. They said the only pain relief they offer is the nitrous oxide--so wondering if that is same as you?

Yes, it's the same thing.

 

[Perplexed]

I loved it so much I had it for my stitches too! Haha like said above it doesn't get rid of the pain but it makes you feel quite tipsy and just so giggly and happy I actually had to be told on several occasions to keep still while I was getting my stitches as I couldn't help but giggle also it helps with your breathing I found Can't wait to use it again!

Edit: omg yes I just read the above comment about the feeling like you are somewhere else, as I would take deep breaths of the stuff just seconds before a new contraction I would literally feel like I was laying on a sunny beach so much so I could feel the sun warm on my skin, it was bliss haha it would only last for a few seconds before it would slip away and then another contraction would come but seriously it's one thing other then tapping my foot that got me through my labour, all I would think was and actually repeated over and over in my head was "only a few more seconds till paradise" it was a god send!

I hear you about the sunny beach. At some point between going into labor (due to ARM) and starting gas & air, someone drew the curtains. It was around 8 or so when I noticed that it was sunny. I felt like the view outside the window was amazing and kept telling dh, midwives & anyone who came in really that the view outside the window was amazing

 

[MummyToAmberx]

G&A does not agree with me it does nothing apart from make me throw up.

 

[Dolly84]

I loved gas and air when I was having ds. I gave birth in a birthing pool so this was one of the only pain relief options, but I didn't need anything else, I even got to keep it for the pushing stage (3mins) and being stitched up afterwards. It took the edge off the pain for me, made me feel slightly woozy but most of all it helped with regulating the breathing.
I'm due with #2 in 7 days and will DEFINATLY want to use gas and air this time x