Hyderabad: In order to ease the pain and suffering of women during childbirth, the state-run King Koti district hospital here has begun using laughing gas, or Entonox (a gas which is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen) during the process of delivering babies.
The Head of the gynaecology department at the District Hospital, King Koti, Dr Jalaja Veronica, said that pregnant women who suffer from severe labour pain will now have some relief. “It is the first of its sort equipment to be deployed in a government hospital in Hyderabad,” she added.
She also said that with the aid of this equipment, women going through labour can have their pain reduced by breathing this mixture of oxygen and laughing gas.
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“Every contraction involves breathing in the gas. Depending on the patient’s pain threshold, the gases begin to work on the sensory nerves within 15–20 seconds and provide pain relief for one to two minutes. Instead of functioning as an anaesthetic, they act as an analgesic,” the doctor from the King Koti hospital, Hyderabad, told Siasat.com
When asked about the process, she stated, “At the time of labour when women can not bear the pain, we will give them an oxygen mask which is connected to a cylinder of Entonox. When the patient exhales deeply, the gas helps goes into her body and helps her to reduce the pain.”
“Until now 13 pregnant women have used the formula while giving birth at the hospital since it was first used on May 12,” Jalaja informed.
Furthermore, the hospital’s superintendent said that the health department is planning to implement this in every government hospital across the state.
