For years there have been few choices for women in the United States when it comes to pain medication during childbirth. Choices have largely been either no medication at all, or the common epidural. Still widely used in Europe, laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is now making a comeback in the U.S. as a way to manage the pain of childbirth.

Key Takeaways:

• For many of us, laughing gas is that thing they give you at the dentist’s office, and those of us who have had it remember it as a downright delightful experience.
• It was used by women in the U.S. to ease the pain of labor until the early 1900s when they learned that they could just be knocked the hell out for the whole thing and decided to go with that instead.
• Laughing gas offers women a middle ground between getting an epidural and going without pain meds. Instead of completely blocking the pain the way an epidural does, nitrous oxide just takes the edge off it.

“The use of nitrous oxide during labor appears to be a middle-of-the-road option for those women who don’t want epidurals but also want to be able to control the amount of pain they experience.”

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1129817/hospitals-offer-laughing-gas-for-labor