The application of subatmospheric pressure was applied to the abdomen to relieve pain during the first stage of labor. 1540 Ether is the anesthetic gas synthesized by combining sulphuric acid and alcohol. 1775 Nitrous oxide is discovered. The first recorded use of ether in obstetrics. 1847 the first recorded use of chloroform in obstetrics.
Chloroform is administered to patients on a handkerchief and inhaled.
1853 Chloroform was used by Queen Victoria during the birth of her first child, despite the publics reaction against using anesthetics during childbirth. After this chloroform became widely used in obstetrics. 1881 Nitrous oxide and oxygen mixed became popular in the obstetrical setting. Patients were able to self-administer this anesthetic. This practice was routinely used in obstetrics until the 1970's.