How do you use gas and air - I can;t even smoke a cigarette properly

[yellowflowers]

Er, title says it all. I've always been crap at inhaling, so will I be able to use gas and air. And I had things that make my head go fuzzy (glasses of wine excluded) - will it do this?

You just put the mouthpiece in and breathe through your mouth. It's not like inhaling from a cigarette. Morelike snorkelling. It didn't do anything to me. I would quite have liked my head to go fuzzy at that point.

Er, can you breathe in?

I couldn't use gas and air and I am an ex smoker who also dives so not much help. I just loathed it and it made me anxious but I've also known people who thought it was great - DP loved it and it kept him busy

I can't smoke and I managed it. It wasn't the headrush effect that I was expecting though. I thought it would be like using poppers (amyl nitrate??) but it was more subtle than that.

Ooh good description, it's just like snorkelling, yes.

Made me feel quite stoned and contractions no longer painful. It is great stuff

Oh my god when the time comes you'l learn to use it pretty quickly!

I've never tried smoking but when I was given gas and air after 52 hours of contractions and being 7cm dilated I didn't take long to work it out! I didn't find it heavenly like some women do but it definitely made my contractions more manageable. It helped A LOT when I was being sewn up afterwards though!

The mouthpiece goes right over your nose and mouth, so just breathe! It does make you feel a bit pleasantly stoned - and I didn't feel that ripped ligament in my knee at all!

Breathe deeply - almost impossible not to once you feel the effect. Made me feel sick but you could not have wrestled it off me, so good was it. Bloody hell I would have kicked anyone who tried to.

Have you ever had it at the dentist? It clears your system very quickly so if you don't like it you can just stop using it and the effects will be gone in a few seconds.

The one I had was like a tube you stuck in your mouth and breathed as normal - no mask/mouthpiece. I didn't feel it had any effect on me whilst in labour but like saoirse86 it was fab when my episeotemy (sp?) tear was being stitched up. I was flying!

Does it wear off quickly - or will I still be high when baby comes out (other than high from having a baby I suppose).

No, never had at dentist. Thank you though - have been snorkelling.

I couldn't get it to work! I'll try again this time, but it did nothing for me

I had some while I was being stitched after the birth of DS. It didn't even occur to me that it might not work or that I might not be able to do it; I just breathed in! The midwives told me I'd feel like I'd had a couple of glasses of wine, but it was more like being pleasantly stoned (and I suspect they know that, but can't describe it like that!). The gas and air is what I'm looking forward to most about labour this time...

If you can breathe you use gas and air. It wears off really quickly, so you'll not be high when baby is born.

In terms of how you use it - the moment you feel a contraction starting you start breathing in the G&A and then you stop when the contraction is just past its worst point. And then you gently coast down as the contraction eases.

I find that it did help a lot with the pain and getting DH to tell me when to stop using it gave him something to focus on and he really helped me.

Just be careful to breathe normally with it, not try to inhale as much as possible in 1 go. after my first 1-2 inhales i threw up. Was fine after that and did whole labour on just gas and air. Plan on doing the same this time.

After 2 pregnancies and labours I actually realised that rather than breathing the gas in, I was biting down on the mouthpiece!

So my advice is not to do that...obviously

I loved the gas and air but it is important that you take it out of your mouth and breath normally between contractions otherwise it doesn't give the same relief when you need it.
Towards the end I was sucking the tank dry am sure

It's good stuff but my tip would be to remember to pack some sucky throat sweets for afterwards - sucking on gas & air always gave me a really dry tickly throat for a few hours after, and the last thing you want is to be coughing when your down belows feel like they've just been kicked by a horse!

Ah yes that's true and don't forget to brush your teeth after the post birth shower because it also makes your breath smell and taste a bit yukky.

When they sent me home the first time, after giving me G&A, I took the mouthpiece with me (asked for it as they were going to throw it away). As I agnoized at home with contractions, I "inhaled" and bit down on the mouthpiece... there was the faintest taste/smell of the G&A and I felt like it "helped" lol
Fwiw, I couldn't smoke to save my life, but I could do G&A no problems first try :)

The "high" wears off in a few minutes after each time you suck on it and it doesn't do much, tbh. The epidural was much better

I was on it for 14 hours with DS1 - I'm surprised I was allowed to have that much. I found that it was more having something to concentrate on that helped. I bit on the tube too hard with DS2 and had toothache for a few days afterwards. Finally got the hang of it with DD. Does dry your mouth though, so have a bottle of water handy - I was inhaling the gas and air on the contractions and drinking inbetween. I drank so much water when having DD that my full bladder was preventing the placenta from being delivered!

you put the plastic bit between your teeth,and suck deeply.when a contraction starts just keep on deep sucking,and everything goes a bit fuzzy,like light headed.. you cant take too much,so just keep on until the pain stops,all my babies were fine after.I just vomited afterwards,and then was ok..