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Nitrous oxide is a gas used to decrease pain sensations. It’s colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and is inhaled through a mask.
The use of nitrous oxide was fairly common in the United States, but fell out of favor as epidurals became more popular in the 1980s. It has been widely used in the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe and has only recently become more available in the United States.
Yes, nitrous oxide has been used by laboring women for decades. Women clear the nitrous oxide from their bodies through their lungs in about five minutes. Nitrous oxide that passes through the placenta to the baby is also cleared by the mother’s lungs. Dental offices use nitrous oxide for pain control in a higher concentration than is used for labor and delivery.