User Questions Why isnt nitrous oxide more readily available in the United States to deal with labor pain?
Nitrous oxide, a safe, colorless, odorless gas, is widely used for pain relief during labor in the UK, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. However, this technique has never really gained much popularity in the USA. Inhalation of nitrous oxide can provide some degree of pain relief in many patients, but not as profound as that of an epidural. In other countries, many women use nitrous oxide before getting an epidural, in cases where it is impossible to receive an epidural, or even in cases where an epidural does not provide complete pain relief. Some have expressed concerns about environmental contamination with this gas, but appropriate equipment to scavenge excess gas should minimize this problem. While certainly no substitute for the pain relief of an epidural, nitrous oxide can be useful in some circumstances. As noted above, it has just never become popular in the USA, other than in a very few hospitals. Personally, I would like to see more nitrous oxide used in the USA, a
