Tangentially related: While expecting our first child, I learned that hospitals are now offering nitrous oxide to mothers during childbirth. The mother inhales

Tangentially related: While expecting our first child, I learned that hospitals are now offering nitrous oxide to mothers during childbirth. The mother inhales just for the duration of the contraction. Apparently, the gas nitrous doesn't stay in the body as long as opiates and less likely to affect the baby.