St. Luke’s Birthing Center offers Laughing Gas

First Hospital in the Northland to Offer it During Labor

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It’s a natural way to less the pain of child birth and it is gaining popularity: laughing gas.

St. Luke’s Birthing Center is the first in the Northland to offer nitrous oxide to expectant mothers for pain control.

A nurse told Fox21 it’s not a new concept, as laughing gas was popular years ago, but it’s a natural way for mother’s to avoid using drugs or an epidural anesthesia.

“What mothers will do is about 20 to 30 seconds before they feel like they’ll have a contraction they will apply this mask to their face and breathe in slowly. It only works when they breathe in and they get a little bit of relief it makes labor a little more tolerable,” said Meech Koski a head nurse at St. Lukes.

Nationally, the use of laughing gas during delivery is a growing trend.