Anaethetists warn against nitrous oxide during labour
The inhaled drug has no real clinical benefit, but has a sizeable environmental impact, says updated ANZCA guidance
Anaesthetists say women should be discouraged from using nitrous oxide during labour as it has little clinical benefit, but a huge carbon footprint.
Writing in updated Australian guidance, the specialists argue inhalational anaesthetic seems effective because it provides a distraction from labour pain that forces women to focus on their breathing in-between contractions.
But the gas has a major impact on the planet, write two anaesthetists in the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists’ (ANZCA) biannual guidance.
Intermittent use by a 70kg woman for four hours during labour was equivalent to the CO2 emissions from driving 1500km in a standard car, they wrote in the guidance’s obstetrics and gynaecology section.
