Prince Harry has revealed that he inhaled it with his wife at the birth of their first child
Prince Harry’s controversial memoir reveals Diana of Wales’s son inhaled ‘laughing gas’, with his wife, Meghan Markle, during the delivery of their first child, in the room at the Portland Hospital in London. The confession has highlighted the use of nitrous oxide in deliveriesa very widespread technique in the United Kingdom and which is used more and more frequently in Spain, especially in the initial phases of the process.
It is not available in all Spanish hospitals but it is in “the majority”, as he explains Salome Alvarez, President of the Federation of Associations of Midwives of Spain (FAME). The so-called ‘laughing gas’ is a mixture of gases, in which nitrous oxide dominates, which has a relaxing effect, so that, although the pain does not disappear, “it helps women in labor to tolerate it better”; along with the use of other techniques such as rubber balls, hot showers, seed bags, etc.
The key is that these techniques can delay or even avoid the use of the epidural, which is “invasive, can delay the onset of labor and lengthen the hours in which the woman is with a catheter.” Hence, it is offered to women in labor, especially in the initial phases of a birth and, to those who want, during the whole process.
the epidural
“The only analgesic method is not the epidural, there are several, pharmacological and non-pharmacological, and the important thing is to have a wide range and that the woman chooses because they are not exclusive and it is good to combine them because childbirth there are many hours and it goes through several phases and when labor is not well established the epidural could delay onset,” maintains the president of the federation of midwives.
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One of the advantages of the so-called ‘laughing gas’ is that its effect Lasts very little. “During the contraction, the parturient can inhale it and if she stops doing so, the effect wears off, which allows her to walk, change position, use the ball, etc. at the same time,” says Gloria Rebollo, midwife at the Institut Català de the Salut. Rebollo indicates that this technique is not yet present in all Catalan hospitals but its use “is is spreading“, especially among those women who opt for a “natural birth.
The specialists consulted emphasize that the use of nitrous oxide has no side effects neither in the mother nor in the baby and, for this reason, it is increasingly present in more studies and guides on childbirth care.