Nitrous oxide and intravenous opioids

Both are options. Both relieve less pain than an epidural.

Both relieve less pain than an epidural. Neither is adequate anesthesia for a cesarean, so if surgery becomes necessary you will still need a spinal, an epidural top-up or a general anesthetic.

Where this comes from

Likis FE, Andrews JC, Collins MR, et al. Nitrous oxide for the management of labor pain: a systematic review. Anesth Analg. 2014;118(1):153-167.
Ullman R, Smith LA, Burns E, Mori R, Dowswell T. Parenteral opioids for maternal pain relief in labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010;(9):CD007396.

Covered in the class

2Module 2. The five ways your pain can be controlledAn epidural, a spinal, a general anesthetic, medicine through a drip, and local. What each one is, when it is used, and what it costs you. 3Module 3. Labor pain, and what actually relieves itWhat labor pain is like, the options in American hospitals, and how well each one works.

Continue

Read this inside the full program, with the questions to take to your next visit and a record of what you have covered.

Obstetric Anesthesia Preparedness →

More from Pain relief

What labor pain is actually likeMost American women choose an epidural, and that number is rising. How American women manage labor painThree quarters use an epidural, and the gap by insurance is not about pain. The other optionsNitrous oxide, opioids, water, movement, and nothing. If you are hoping to avoid an epiduralIn the one study that followed the intention through, 57% of women who hoped to avoid an epidural had one, and 91% of those who planned one got it.

This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you.