Nitrous Oxide Available for Mothers During Labor, Delivery and Post-Partum Care

Valley Health now offers nitrous oxide to women seeking another option for analgesia and pain management during labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period.

Women and Children’s services support our patients by providing several safe and effective choices of pain management during labor. In addition to IV and regional analgesia, we are now offering nitrous oxide to our patients for whom it is safe.

Nitrous oxide has been found to be an effective analgesic by relieving pain, decreasing anxiety, inducing euphoria and/or reducing the awareness of pain. Nitrous oxide inhalation is a form of labor analgesia that provides a reasonable alternative or adjuvant to narcotic analgesia or epidural anesthesia.

All patients will be evaluated at the time of admission by their physician or certified nurse midwife to confirm the appropriateness of possible nitrous oxide use during their admission. The 50/50 blend of nitrous oxide and oxygen will be delivered by self-administration after informed consent has been obtained.

Nitrous oxide is useful in numerous situations during labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum stage. We anticipate its use for non-labor events including cerclage placement and external cephalic versions; for anxiety-related events such as IV placement, cervical exams, and placement of cervical catheters during the labor and induction processes; for painful contractions during active labor; and for postpartum events such as laceration repairs and manual removal of placentas.

We hope the addition of this analgesia will help us to continue to provide the best level of compassion and care for each of our patients as they welcome their newborn to their family.