Born at St. Cloud Hospital in Minnesota | A Preview of a Surprise Sex Birth Story in Photographs + The Scoop on Nitrous
2:37 am | November 14, 2019
Welcome to the world, sweet boy! We’re so glad you’re here.
You’ll notice the birthing person in this gallery using nitrous oxide as a comfort measure throughout their birth. Nitrous oxide can be an amazing tool, given that you and your provider feel it is necessary and safe*. We often see nitrous used in one of two ways: a) our client gains back their confidence after it carries them through a block of vulnerability or anxiety, or b) our client quickly decides it is not working the way they thought it would. And so we thought it would be nice to talk about what expectations you can have if you plan to utilize this tool in your birth one day.
Nitrous oxide is a gas that you breathe in and out through a face mask or mouth piece. Some hospitals or birth centers might have different options for size or shape for the mouth piece you use to breathe through, and the mask is connected to the gas tanks through accordion-like tubing. The tanks of gas are typically on a cart with wheels, and hooked up to a hose that supplies the air flow. As you breathe the gas in, the machine will often make a gurgle noise I can only relate to what Chewbacca on Star Wars sounds like. That is how you will know you are breathing in deeply enough for it to enter your system.
Once the nitrous oxide enters your system, it will not take any pain sensations away, rather help you cope better and care less about that pain. It can have an anxiety-easing effect that can help a laboring person get back into the zone, focus, or what we like to call, “labor land”. Nitrous can be a great tool for getting you out of the fear, tension, pain cycle we talk about as birth workers. Given that you have to take big, deep breaths in order to hear Chewbacca sing, it can help a birthing person tap into the nervous system in charge of keeping you calm and confident; free from the fight, flight, or freeze response. Ultimately, we see it most useful in helping folks find a rhythm they can bring all of their attention to, leaving little room for doubting, should-ing, or what-if-ing in the mind.
Some great questions to ask your provider prenatally if you hope to use nitrous oxide in your birth:
Always start with asking what the risks and benefits are, and if there are any alternatives that give similar outcomes.
*Should I be concerned about the MTHFR mutation and the use of nitrous? (If you know you have the MTHFR mutation, be sure to have your provider note this in your charts and talk about the implications of nitrous use when folks have this mutation.)
How long will the hose/tanks travel? Can I walk about the room and get into varying positions with this distance?
Can I use hydrotherapy or get in the tub/shower while using nitrous?
Are there any other procedures or interventions that will limit or inhibit my use of nitrous? Any situations where it would not be an option for me?
What other questions do you have? When you schedule a Birth Planning Session in Minneapolis, St. Paul, or the surrounding areas in Minnesota with us, we help walk you through all of your options and what questions/discussion might be helpful to have with your provider in preparing for an empowered and positive birth experience.
Gather Birth Cooperative is a team of doulas and birth photographers who provide birth doula support, birth photography, and more during the prenatal, birth, and postpartum times. Serving Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding areas, Gather supports all birthing people and families.