Comparison of 0.8% sevoflurane versus Entonox for labour analgesia

Labour analgesia in the form of epidural would be ideal for all parturients but this being expensive to provide is limited in supply to only about 1% of the Malaysian population. Dose finding studies have shown that 0.8% sevoflurane administered to a parturient can provide substantial analgesia. A commercially available 0.8% inhaler has just emerged in the market. We would like to compare this method with the traditional option of using Entonox. In this study we propose to compare the pain experience of parturients exposed to either 0.8% sevoflurane or entonox. We expect the 0.8% inhaler to provide better analgesia for the mother. We do not expect any untoward complications to arise from its use. The costing results will be unknown until after the study.