Women who use gas for their labour pain will vary greatly in their perception of how effective the gas was and how satisfied they were with using it in their labour. From a statistical perspective, large surveys of women after the birth have found that about 50% of women regarded the gas as being very effective in relieving the pain, 20% found it gave them some pain relief and about 30% found it to be ineffective.
Bearing this in mind it is important to have realistic expectations about what the gas is capable of providing. Nitrous oxide will not remove the pain altogether, but many women say it takes the edge off it. Some women describe it as "not taking away the pain" but being "mentally removed from the pain".
The following are some descriptions that woman have given about how it felt to use nitrous oxide for pain relief. For some women the effects are positive, for others they hated feeling this way. The advantage of gas is that the woman will soon return 'to normal' a few minutes after the gas has stopped.
Floating
Disorientated
Drunk
Stoned
Confused
Out of it
Removed
Nauseated
Claustrophobic