Tag Archives: #childbirth

Study Finds Women Who Had Epidural Had Lower Risk of Severe Maternal Complications

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PainRelief.com Interview with
Prof. Rachel Kearns
Consultant Anaesthetist, Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Honorary Professor, University of Glasgow
Senior NRS Fellow

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This was an observational study which looked at health data from over half a million mothers giving birth in Scotland. We compared women who had received an epidural in labour with those who had not and found that women who had an epidural had a lower risk of severe maternal morbidity (severe health complications during childbirth or the 6 weeks following birth).  

We found that women with a higher underlying risk for having complications, for example women delivering a baby pre-term or women with pre-existing health conditions, had an even greater reduction in risk.

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Nitrous Oxide “Cracking” Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas From Pain Killer Used During Childbirth

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PainRelief.com Interview with:
Dr Clifford L Shelton
Consultant Anaesthetist, Wythenshawe Hospital
Senior Clinical Lecturer, Lancaster Medical School (Director of Simulation and Skills)
Executive Editor, Anaesthesia Reports
Deputy Chair of PCPIE, National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia Health Services Research Centre

Dr. Annie Pinder
North West School of Anaesthesia,
Health Education England North West, Manchester, UK

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Inhaled nitrous oxide is the most commonly-used pain relief for labour in the UK – used by an estimated 77% of women in labour. However, it has a high ‘carbon footprint’ and depletes the ozone layer so healthcare organisations must take steps to reduce its release. Previous works have also noted high levels of nitrous oxide in the work environment of midwives working on labour ward, which can have health implications.

In Scandinavia, nitrous oxide ‘cracking’ technology has been used for several years to address these concerns and this has recently become available in the UK – however, there is little available effectiveness of the technology in the clinical workplace. We previously conducted a bench experiment to assess the ability of cracking technology to reduce ambient nitrous oxide concentrations under ideal circumstances and found a substantial improvement when the technology was in place. However, controlled experimental situations are not representative of real-life.

In this study we therefore aimed to assess whether ambient nitrous oxide levels would be reduced when the technology was implemented on the low-risk birth centre of a typical UK maternity hospital.

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