In the best Dutch tradition, one-third of all childbirths takes place in a home environment. But due to strict regulations set by the Dutch Ministry of Health, painkillers like laughing gas are not allowed there, while demand is ever growing.
Motivated by the birth of her son and her background in midwifery, Industrial Design Engineering student Eva Schuurmans invented a solution: a system for providing laughing gas at home.
Even though laughing gas is already widely used as a way of pain relief during labour, in the Netherlands it has been classified as a dangerous gas and a threat to human fertility. “The use of laughing gas is not harmful to mother and child, as it rapidly moves through the mother’s system,” Schuurmans said. “Rather it is dangerous for the midwife, because she often gets exposed to the gas. This will slow down the uptake of her vitamin B12.” No proper equipment is yet available for a home environment, where air ventilators are absent.
With the strict regulations in mind, Schuurmans based her system on the rebreather found in deep sea diving, in which exhaled breath is being re-used. She explained: “You exhale the same amount of laughing gas as you inhale because the human body does not absorb it. By keeping the gas in a closed system, leakage is minimal.” In the hospital, a mobile mask is used which the mother can bring to her mouth. A separate mask attached to the chin will drain off the exhaled gas, but the two-mask system causes too much leakage in a home environment. Schuurmans therefore replaced it with one fixed mask attached to the head, thereby closing the system. The mother-to-be presses a control button to control the inflow.
The system works with a gas storage room, the so-called counterlung. It is filled with equal amounts of laughing gas (N2O) and oxygen (O2). Inhaling makes the gas flow from the storage room into the mask. When exhaling, a filter removes the CO2. The remaining N2O and O2 flow back to the counterlung, where the appropriate concentrations are being restored. Once the control button is released, the counterlung closes and normal air can flow into the mask. A spark inside the filter breaks down the N2O in N2 and O2, which are both harmless.
Even though the design seems to solve the problem, there are a lot of aspects which still need to be considered. For example, heat development in the filter and the fact that a fixed mask can be smothering for the mother, are limiting factors. Despite the challenges, a few companies have already shown their interest in Schuurmans’ design. Encouraged by these enthusiastic reactions, she would love to get her design on the market: “I just want to make births in a home environment easier, but I cannot do it on my own. Additional expertise is necessary.” Schuurmans finished her thesis with an 8.
–> Eva Schuurmans MSc, Providing analgesic laughing gas during birth in a home environment, Supervisor: Dr. M.H. Sonneveld, graduation: May 27, 2016
Comments are closed.