A girls best friend (well only the ones in labour!) (Gas & Air (Entonox))

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Gas & Air (Entonox)
Date:	10/06/09 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Takes the edge off contractions, calms you down slightly, uncontrolable giggles (at first)

Disadvantages: Only a mild form of pain relief, gives you dry lips and mouth, made me feel sicky

My first and only experience of Entonox was in hospital in labour with my daughter.

What exactly is Entonox?
Entonox is better known as gas and air (I wouldn't have even know it's real name if I hadn't have looked it up) and is a anaesthesia gas which is used as a form of pain relief. It can be used for general pain but is most commonly used in child birth. It is a mix of 50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen. Nitrous oxide is better known as laughing gas!

What does it look like?
Well you can't see Entonox because it's obviously a gas but it comes in a large metal cylinder and was placed next to my hospital bed. I think all delivery rooms have it and you can even use it in a birthing pool. You sometimes use it through a face mask but most usually through a mouthpiece, which I had. The gas is carried through a pipe which leads from the cylinder to the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece has a big handle on it so it's easy to hold and sort of reminds me of a megaphone! It has no taste or smell.

How do I use it?
Gas and air is self administered which means you can do it when you want and as much as you want. When you're ready you need to put the mouthpiece inbetween your lips and take a breath in. There is a little button on the handle which you need to press whilst taking a breath, this allows the gas and air to be released. After you've taken a breath you then need to let go of the button and breathe the gas back into the mouthpiece rather than into the air - it doesn't matter if you breathe it into the air but if you breathe it back into the mouthpiece then it takes away the carbon dioxide. They say you should breathe in and out like normal but I personally took deep breathes in and out (particularly towards the end). You can use the gas and air whenever you want to but it's best to use it when the contractions really start to kick in. It takes about 30 seconds to take effect so as soon as you feel a contraction coming, get puffing! Your body automatically tells you when to stop taking the gas and air in so you don't need to worry about knocking yourself out completely - your hand (holding the mouthpiece) will drop from your face.

What does it actually do? What are it's effects?
Due to the 50% laughing gas it is no suprise that it makes you really giddy and giggly. At one point during the early stages of labour I was just sitting there laughing my butt off and my other half was so intreuged as to what this stuff actually done that he took a few breaths for himself and we just sat there laughing! It puts you in a really spaced out mood and actually feels very much like being stoned (not that I know about that!) or tipsy. During later stages of labour the laughter sadly wears off and turns into irratic panting into the mouthpiece! I can't say that it took away any pain from the contractions themselves but it definitely helped take my mind off the pain if only for a few seconds. If my mind and body were both concentrating on these contractions I have no doubt that it would have felt a lot worse. The effects of the gas and air only last about 20 seconds at a time but every second counts when you're in labour.

My personal advantages?
The gas and air definitely took the edge off my contractions. It took my mind into it's own little world for a few seconds throughout my contractions and helped me concentrate on something other than the pain. It also seemed to calm me down and space me out which I was extremeley grateful for as giving birth is truly the scariest experience ever. There is a great sense of achievment once you have given birth and realised you have done it without the help of an epidural. I have also heard stories that the oxygen is actually good for the baby too.

My personal disadvantages?
It was no miracle cure, not by any stretch of the imagination. Gas and air wont stop the pain of child birth and is only classed as a mild form of pain relief. If you are looking for a really effective form of pain relief then I would look in the direction of an epidural instead. I noticed that the gas and air can make you feel really sick too, there were a couple of times when I thought I was going to be physically sick but wasn't. I'm not sure why it did this but it wasn't very pleasant.. maybe I was overdoing it? It also made my mouth and lips really dry so I'd advise having some water and lip balm on hand. Oh and for some bizzare reason my voice also went really deep after using this through half of my 18 hour labour!

Overall I recommend this to all mums to be. It doesn't harm you or the baby and is not classed as a drug. It won't take away the pain but can take the edge off contractions. It's free, easy and you can use it at your own leisure, what's their to lose?

Summary: My experience and opinion of good ol' gas and air.