As any mother out there will know, giving birth is certainly no laughing matter, and you have probably rolled your eyes at those videos of women singing and dancing through their labours.

 

Well, if the latest labour procedure in the US is anything to go by, more new mums are going to be laughing all the way to the delivery room!

 

Doctors at a hospital in Michigan have hit the headlines this weekend, over their decision to start using nitrous oxide – commonly referred to as laughing gas – to take the edge off birthing pains. While the gas is already used in certain European hospitals, it has not been readily available for mothers in the US.

 

The gas is self-administered through a breathing tube, with the principal idea behind the setup being that women are “in control” of the process, making “a contraction-by-contraction decision”.

 

Speaking out after news of the new procedure went viral, new mum Kayla Taylor spoke of her experience giving birth while using the ‘laughing gas’ instead of an epidural.

 

 

Explaining the process, Kayla told the Detroit Free Press that while the pain was still there, she felt more in control with each contraction.

 

“It wasn’t pain relief. It just kind of takes your mind off,” she said.

 

Although nitrous oxide isn’t hotly requested right now, doctors at St Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor hospital say it is becoming more and more popular.

 

While you - much like us - may have had an image of a woman laughing through her labour, sadly this is not the case! An obstetrician from the hospital revealed: "Our dose is about 50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen. It's enough to take the edge off things without having people lose reality. We don't see people giggling their way through labour."

 

Is this something you would try out?

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