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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Gas and Air

51 replies

Trampoline · 02/12/2009 23:15

Has anyone ever found that Gas and Air had absolutely no effect on them at all whatsoever? I told the nurse that it wasn't working, and i got my partner to try it when she wasn't looking - it had no effect on him either, but the nurse insisted that it was working fine! I reckon it must have been disconnected or something. Any ideas?

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BouncingTurtle · 03/12/2009 11:22

I did when I had DS. I came to the conclusion I was doing it wrong.

heth1980 · 03/12/2009 11:24

I found it made absolutely no difference too, but then I had a quick labour and was already 7cm with back to back contractions when I first started using it. I think maybe it works better in early labour before it all gets too painful! The only effect it had was to make me throw up everywhere

Original poster

Trampoline · 03/12/2009 12:19

Well that's the odd thing - most people I know say that it makes you feel lightheaded (spaced out) but also makes you feel at least queasy, or very sick indeed. I had none of this, and therefore still insist that I was sucking on fresh air! (I also only used it when I arrived at hospital at 9cm dilated but i think it still should have done something.) I just wondered if some people were immune although I wouldn't think this was possible. Hey ho, I guess I'll never know, I still reckon it wasn't switched on! hmm

OP posts:

bumpsoon · 03/12/2009 19:47

i used it at 8cm and got the lovely floaty spaced out feeling ,perhaps it wasnt connected properly ,not that you will ever find out

Egg · 03/12/2009 19:54

I used it both times once fully dilated and definitely found it helped. I felt like I had been sipping the sherry or something!

ShinyAndNew · 03/12/2009 20:00

I heart gas and air. It's the only good thing about pregnancy and labour. Apart from the baby of course, although that's debatable at times

camflower · 06/12/2009 22:12

i was the same as you trampoline when i had my first gas and air. i turned to the midwife and said are you sure this is working? I don't think there's anything in here. she assured me there was but maybe it's an nhs ploy to save money! i moved swiftly on to the diamorphine ...

devotion · 06/12/2009 22:17

there must have been a problem with it. for a start you can taste it and it took a while for me to get over the taste but then as soon as you start breathing there is no doubt about it you are high as a kite!

i loved it but both times it took me about three breaths before i relaxed as i have a moment of panic feeling out of it and then................ heaven!

StarlightMcKenzie · 06/12/2009 22:20

This reply has been deleted

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PrettyCandles · 06/12/2009 22:31

If it had no effect on him, and he was using it properly, then I doubt it was working properly. You need to breathe it in slowly and deeply - gasps or short puffs don't work.

I got a strange, fuzzy-headed feeling as its effect mounted. A drunken disconnected feeling. Everything extremely amusing. I thought I was the bee's knees when I was high on the stuff - move over Jack Dee, I am the new king of comedy!

I think G&A rocks.

It wasn't that it killed all the pain, merely dulled it and distracted me from the pain.

It worked really well until transition, then, each time, I flung the mouthpiece across the room in frustration, because suddenly it wasn't doing anything for me.

Used it heavily for examinations and for stitching up.

Dragging on it heavily made my mouth go very dry. Too much and I got the dry heaves. Dh had to stand by with a sports bottle of water, so that I could have a tiny sip as soon as the mouthpiece left my mouth. That way I had no ill-effects.

NonnoMum · 06/12/2009 22:46

I love Gas n Air so much that I even joined the Facebook page dedicated to it (must get out more). Was given the hint that the outbreath is important too and to really lug hard on it, taking deep breaths. Then the Dalek noises start coming, and apart from anything else, it's a bit of a distraction.
Yep, I got rid of it for pushing stage, but by then everything other than pushing was out of the question, and I couldn't even concentrate on holding the mouthpiece.
I have a question, why don't they seem to offer it in the US? Been watching too much a lot of Discovery Home and Health and they seem to go from no pain relief to "would you like an epidural?" I know some people can feel sick on it, but isn't it the first form of pain relief before all the serious stuff is offered?

StarlightMcKenzie · 06/12/2009 22:49

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PotPourri · 06/12/2009 22:49

Loved it also. It was lovely to have that tipsy feeling again after so many months of no alcohol. But there definately was a point where it didn't do much. The distraction was probably the biggest benefit though.

MegBusset · 06/12/2009 22:51

When in labour with DS1 G&A had no effect on me whatsoever.

With DS2 I was totally off my tits with it for several hours, nearly killed the MW when she had to wrestle it away from me to change the canister

LittleWhiteWereWolf · 06/12/2009 22:53

I had to inhale long drags and only on the fourth would I get the light headed feeling. However, by the third drag each contraction was abating already so I found it didnt help in terms of making the pain go away, but in terms of helping me breath which kept the contraction in my control (ha!)

I did pass it to DH when the mw was out of the room and he nearly fainted, but he is quite the light weight unlike me!

VengefulKittyInTheManger · 06/12/2009 23:15

I had it only when fully dilated and with no other drug relief, and it worked so well that I shoved it away from me saying "take it away from me, I can't take anymore - I'm off my fucking head" and thinking I was stoned or something! I had no clue what was going on, and as a result don't have clear memories of the birth...

After talking to Midwives on break when I used to work in the hospital, they reckon it doesn't work for everyone, but it is odd that it had no effect on your DH as well. I would lean towards thinking there may have been a connection issue.

Sawyer64 · 06/12/2009 23:32

I loved G&A,felt Drunk as a Skunk on it,great when you reach that stage where you can't push/bear it anymore.Gives you some relief,takes the edge off,and makes you feel more in control IME.

LittlePushka · 06/12/2009 23:33

Hi, only really took the edge of the pain for a while for me during contractions. Did not float! Did not feel spaced or removed.

by time pushing came it did nothing for me but it did regulate and concentrate my breathing.

Same effect for both labours

Recommend you keep the plastic end complete with bite marks as a souvenir!!

chegirlwithbellson · 06/12/2009 23:49

I had it with all my births with varying results.

It worked best with DC4. I think this is because I had a home birth so had to wait till the midwives bought it. By the time I got hold of it BOY was I ready for it. It was flicking bliss.

There is a bit of a knack to using it. It is also possible to have an empty cannister or one with a faulty connection.

TheFallenMadonna · 06/12/2009 23:57

I was monitored with DS, and could tell when a contraction was coming by looking at the trace (before I could feel anything). I'd start breathing it then, and stop just before the peak of the contraction. I found that a pretty effective.

With DD I had less monitoring and think I used it too much. I had Mr Men hallucinations

IME, it doesn't stop it hurting, it stops you caring about it so much.

I liked it.

NotanOtter · 07/12/2009 00:02

if you have the mouthpiece thing - hold your nose

thats my tip and have laboured 6 times

dont love it - hate what it does to your head and ears - but used excessively correctly it does do something

serenity · 07/12/2009 00:03

I didn't find it took the pain away, but it definitely left me not caring so much about it (like having a couple of shots, warm and buzzy, only wearing off a lot quicker!) and the breath control/distraction value is just as good.

My friend got so high on it she had hallucinations which just shows that different people have different tolerances. I was nowhere near that high (would have had to stop taking it, my controlfreakery wouldn't have tolerated that level of 'out of control')

TheFallenMadonna · 07/12/2009 00:07

That's good advice I think NAO. I found myself using it as though I was using scuba apparatus - and that does involve breathing through the mouth only.

LadyGlenChristmasPresent · 07/12/2009 00:17

I loved Gas and Air, it was the only pain relief I had in my three labours and it really took the edge of the contractions.
I was rather hoping the midwives would forget to take it with them when they left as I thought it would be quite useful to have at home for all sorts of little emergencies.

choosyfloosy · 07/12/2009 00:25

I understand that they don't have it in the US because when it was being considered for licensing in the 30s, it was decided it was too dangerous. In more extreme climates/temperatures than we have in the UK, there is a risk of the two gases separating out, so that the labouring woman breathes only one - not a good idea! And of course in the 30s a lot more births were at home, so less control of the temperature.

Didn't work in labour for me - completely worked during stitching. Realistically they must have canisters running out quite frequently in the labour wards, so that you have quite a high chance of hitting an empty canister? Only my opinion. I'd never even held a mouthpiece before, and during labour is a poor time to learn a new technique for anything, so it's quite likely I was just doing it wrong.

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