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Nitrous oxide again

It seems that one of the main ways that the Letterkenny midwives ease women through labour is through the liberal use of nitrous oxide and oxygen. I was told that probably 90% of women use this gas during labour, many for almost their whole labour. This may be the way that women manage labouring in shared rooms with others - all are busy puffing away on their gas!

I was disturbed, however, to find that this shared labour room was not ventilated at all. The gas dispensers have now been fitted with scavenger units but may not be enough to keep the air clear of expelled gas, and this poses a significant health and safety issue for the midwives. I will be discussing this in detail with this group today, and encouraging them to read the article on nitrous oxide that was published in MIDIRS in March. The full text is on our website and is should be read by all midwives who work in units where this gas is used.

Midwives in the UK (and Ireland too, it seems) are unaware that the use of nitrous oxide for labour is unheard of in most western countries and much of the rest of the world. It has never been used in the USA for example, and is unknown in European countries. Given that there are so many other ways that midwives can increase women’s comfort during labour (movement, massage, heat, water etc) it is a shame that they so often resort to offering drugs. Using drugs for labour pain is a symptom of the medical model of care and I would hope that midwives were more aware of their role and suitably skilled in alternative ideas.

My book “The Midwife Companion - the art of support during birth” was written specifically for UK midwives who seemed to lack ideas for easing labour pain without drugs. It is packed full of self help strategies and is written as an illustrated manual for ease of use. Many midwives have told me that it is “their Bible”when it comes to being “with women” which is heartening.

I will be sharing some of the se ideas with the midwives in Letterkenny today in an effort to give them some alternatives to the liberal se of the gas, which may well be compromising their own health as well as that of the women they serve.

Posted by andrea at June 30, 2006 05:04 PM