Good results for inhaled pain relief in labour
Thursday September 13th, 2012
A comprehensive review of the evidence has found that inhaled pain relief is safe and effective at reducing pain in the first stage of labour.
Both oxygen plus nitrous oxide, and with a flurane derivative, reduce pain, say Cochrane researchers following a review of 26 studies involving 2,959 women.
This method of pain relief acts fast - within a minute - and allows the mother to remain awake and able to swallow. It is significantly better than no pain relief and may help avoid more invasive methods, say Dr Trudy Klomp of VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and her team.
However, oxygen plus nitrous oxide (or "gas and air") can sometimes cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and drowsiness. Oxygen plus fluranes has a more powerful pain-relieving effect than nitrous oxide with fewer side-effects, but requires supervision by an analgesia professional.
Dr Klomp says: "This is probably the main reason why flurane use is not widespread and also why little research is done on this form of inhaled analgesia for the management of labour pain."
Nitrous oxide is widely provided in the UK but less so in many other countries. Greater availability "could help many women who at the moment do not have any option for pain relief, but where there are appropriately trained anaesthesia professions, flurane is the preferred gas to use", Dr Klomp says.
She concludes: "Inhaled analgesia's ability to significantly reduce pain intensity and increase pain relief indicates that it can help women in labour, particularly those who want pain relief but do not want more intensive forms such as epidurals."
Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | Europe | Pain Relief | Women's Health & Gynaecology
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