What are the disadvantages of using Nitrous Oxide during labour?
Disadvantages of using Nitrous Oxide during labour include: • Nausea and/or vomiting • Not a reliable form of pain relief • Women can become drowsy, confused or disorientated. Some women experience these feelings as quite unpleasant • The face mask can make some women feel claustrophobic Whether there are any long term effects of Nitrous Oxide on babies is difficult to answer. I could find only one study on this question. In a well designed case control study conducted in Stockholm by Jacobson et al. (1990) they found that when Nitrous Oxide was given to a woman during labour, that child (in later life) was five and a half times more likely to have an amphetamine addiction than a brother or sister who did not receive Nitrous Oxide via their mother during labour.
