The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-02-19
Birth Made Easy by Use of Gas

BY EmaIne N. Sachs In the New York
Times.
The doctor sat in a big chair back
of mahogany desk, and his nervous
fingers fretted with bronze paper
weight.
you want TO know about the use
Of laughing gas during childbirth 2"
he asked, "and you've promised that
my name will not be printed?'
"Well, It is not new. you know,
the use of so-called laughing gas, or
nitrous oxide. during labor. As a
matter OF fact Klikowitsh OF Petro-
grad used 1t in 90 cases in 1880. II
has been used in dentistry for some
time. but it has only gradually come
into general use in obstetrics, / am
not at all certain that 1t is in gen
eral usage even now. Twilight sleep
came along with its poetical name
and its alluring promises. Eager
women seized upon 1t. In some cases
it seized upon them and their in.
fants. II Is potent, dangerous
drug. Successful under ideal condi-
tions, but ideal conditions are dis
mally rare. However, woman began
to clamor for relief. The use OF an
esthetics increased and is increasing.
Complete Ancsthesia Harmful.
Either is not eyanesoent enough.
IL has unpleasant after-effects and
should not be given for prolonged
period. OF course, an operative case
creates n different situation. There
ether may be necessary. Chloroform
sends the patient into complete un-
consciousness. Labor pains are di-
minished and the function stopped.
The entire enterprise Is delayed. Not
only is that the physical effect OF
both ether and chloroform. but there
is physic effect. The patients mo-
rale Is lowered. She Is not inclined
TO help the physician. Laughing gas
is immeasurably superior. 1t is
evanescent. Kemp found that 20
per cent remaining in the blood after
administration was reduced in two
minutes to 0.09 per cent. The pains
are not stopped nor are the uterine
contractions which arc the motor
power for the birth OF the child less
ened. The woman has her intelli-
gence left. but the edge of the pain
is removed. | can say more than
that. 1t is exactly comparable to
having a tooth pulled under gas,
fThc woman has no more conscious
ness OF pain than the person in n
dentists chair who may know there
are instruments in his vicinity but
who sinks almost into oblivion when
the yank comes. l can conservative
ly say that the use OF laughing gas
renders childbirth practically pain
less"
This sounds like cruel question.
but want to get your answer. Does
the bearing of intense pain such as
women have endured for so long
have a bad effect on the woman
physiogollcally? .
Eyes and no." he answered. "The
modern woman, of course, is much
more highly organized nervously
than her mother and her grand
mother. Worry destroys some OF
her resistance.
ut is said that labor pains are
soon forgotten. The average woman
does not forget them. IL she has
more children IL is under protest.
However. | cannot say that there is
any definite i'll effect from the pain
attendant on normal delivery
cannot say Il definitely, but there
are statistics showing that maternal
mortality increases in ratio with the
longer duration of the woman's suf-
feTings. ] have a colleague who goes
further than !. lie says that the
use of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas
not only brings relief to the patient,
but that ii shortens the duration OF
labor, permits the doctor to manipu-
late the child more satisfactorily,