• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
Mum says doctors denied her gas and air during traumatic labour

Home> News

Updated 13:58 7 Mar 2023 GMTPublished 11:46 7 Mar 2023 GMT

Mum says doctors denied her gas and air during traumatic labour

A mum has spoken out after not being allowed gas and air while giving birth to her child

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

A mum has spoken out after not being allowed gas and air while giving birth to her child.

On 1 February Leigh Milner gave birth to a baby boy at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, however, her experience in labour was not smooth sailing.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital is one of several hospitals in the UK which introduced a temporary ban on the use of gas and air during childbirth amid concerns over midwives and doctors being exposed to the gas long-term.

Leigh has since opened up about how the lack of gas and air affected her experience of labour and what pain relief she was offered instead.

Advert

Leigh Milner gave birth to a baby boy at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
@leighmilnertv/ Instagram

Leigh - a journalist for the BBC - explained doctors said gas and air wouldn't be available during her labour as a result of the ban, but other pain relief would be.

The 33-year-old told the BBC: "I desperately needed something to take the edge off. My whole body was shaking. [...] The pain was so much that I was in and out of consciousness."

The pain relief Leigh was offered instead came as a shock to the mum.

Advert

Leigh was told she wouldn't be able to receive gas and air during her labour.
David J. Green/ Alamy Stock Photo

The 33-year-old notes she wasn't able to have an epidural because of how quickly her labour progressed - having shown signs of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy and after labour), Leigh was induced into labour.

Leigh continues: "I kept begging for pain relief but the only thing they said they could give me was paracetamol.

"It felt like a Victorian birth and it shouldn't have. From start to finish, that day was an absolute mess."

Advert

Leigh's birthing experience felt 'Victorian'.
@leighmilnertv/ Instagram

Several NHS trusts in the UK decided to implement a temporary ban on gas and air over fears of the long-lasting damage being exposed to nitrous oxide could have on members of staff.

The BBC discovered between August 2018 and December 2022 the Health and Safety Executive recorded 11 nitrous oxide incidents in NHS trusts.

Some of the incidents saw the units of nitrous oxide reach 50 times over the NHS 'safe exposure' limit of 100ppm.

Advert

Several NHS trusts across the UK have implemented the temporary gas and air ban.
Science Photo Library/ Alamy Stock Photo

As a result of the impact the temporary ban is having on people giving birth, the Princess Alexandra Hospital has since fitted three temporary gas and air units.

However, one mum reported one of them wasn't working when she gave birth at the same facility on 13 February.

Giuseppe Labriola, director of midwifery and assistant chief nurse, told Tyla: "Following tests on the use of gas and air in our maternity unit, we made the decision to suspend the use of gas and air on a temporary basis (19 January). We have since put in place three temporary gas and air units and can now offer gas and air to women and birthing people. We also have permanent gas and air units being fitted soon.

Advert

"We also have a designated helpline in place for women and people who are due to give birth at PAHT to call with any queries they have."

A spokesperson from the NHS told Women's Health Magazine the NHS is now working closely with all trusts affected by the gas and air cut-offs.

Featured Image Credit: @leighmilnertv/ Instagram

Topics: Parenting, BBC, News, Life, Real Life, Health

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • Contributor/Getty ImagesContributor/Getty Images
    9 hours ago

    Why Kim Jong Un’s mysterious daughter has made her first international appearance

    Kim Ju Ae has been seen internationally for the first time

    News
  • JADE GAO/AFP via Getty ImagesJADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images
    10 hours ago

    Putin and Xi Jinping’s disturbing exchange picked up on hot mic moment during China meeting

    The two world leaders walked together at a military parade in Beijing earlier today (3 September)

    News
  • Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty ImagesRick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images
    11 hours ago

    'Missing minute' from Jeffrey Epstein prison cell footage explained with newly released video

    Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial in prison in 2019

    News
  • SuppliedSupplied
    11 hours ago

    Family awarded nearly $1 billion after 'botched' hospital birth left baby permanently disabled

    Anyssa Zancanella has been awarded $951million after her baby girl was left severely disabled following medical malpractice during the birth

    News
  • Tragic video mum shared online day before killing her husband with brain cancer
  • Woman diagnosed with rare cancer that doctors say is linked to her breast implants
  • 12-year-old boy’s skin ‘melted away’ after viral TikTok stunt went wrong
  • Mum of 'world's oldest baby' speaks out and people can't get over words used to describe him