Covid-19 patients give birth in a safer way with nitrous oxide and the Double mask

Medicvent is working with the evacuation of hazardous gases to guarantee a safe, leakage-free work environment for health professionals. The company’s popular Double mask, used during labor, will help ensure a work environment that is almost nitrous oxide-free. A question concerning if there could be an increased risk of spreading the virus by using the Double mask during childbirth for patients diagnosed with Covid-19 has been raised during the ongoing pandemic. Today we know the opposite is true.

The Double mask has been used as a tool for pain relief for women in labor for more than 20 years.

At the same time, it has generated a safe work environment for midwives and nurses alike. The Double mask uses its effective ejector to evacuate excess gases, which is incredibly important since long-lasting exposure to nitrous oxide is a health risk. Last spring, concerned midwives contacted Medicvent to ask if there was any risk of being infected by Covid-19 during the usage of the Double mask. They had this concern because their patients use the double mask.

– There was no reason to believe that. We do not know of any case where the usage of our mask has had anything to do with spreading the virus – or any bacteria before that. Besides, by using the mask the spreading of the woman’s expiration will decrease, in contrast to the patient using no mask. Instead, it would seem as if by using the Double mask, the risk for spreading the virus decreases dramatically. The fewer particles from the patient’s expiration that are spread, the better, especially during the pandemic, says Elin Lindkvist, financial manager at Medicvent, basing her statement on several expert opinions.

But some continued to be worried. In April 2020, Läkartidningen (leading Swedish medical journal) reported that women in labor with Covid-19 could use nitrous oxide as pain relief. The Swedish Association of Midwives agreed with the recommendations. Even 1177 (the official Swedish healthcare advisor) established that the usage of nitrous oxide was to be used as before.

– In Läkartidningen’s article, a senior physician at Karolinska University Hospital confirmed that there was no reason to believe that there should be any forming of aerosol and that the larger part of the patient’s expiration would be evacuated. Instead, this meant that the risk of the woman spreading the virus via her expiration, to personnel and other people being present in the room, would decrease because of our Double mask, Elin Lindkvist explains.

Today, approximately 80 percent of the delivery wards in Sweden use the Double mask from Medicvent. The mask will also absorb expired breath even if it is not on the face, this thanks to the strap connected to the mask, which lets it hang in under the woman’s chin.

– When the labor is over, the mask will be cleaned clinically and the evacuation tube will be discarded. We always recommend to use a prefilter, which will be discarded between each patient. If you follow ours and the hospital’s instructions, there are no reasons why there should be any increased risk of spreading the virus to health professionals, even when they handle the products. The entire process is completely safe, exactly like it should be – nobody should have to settle for less, Elin Lindkvist says.

– Without the mask, a woman in labor will breathe straight into the room during all of the process. The expiration from a woman who uses nitrous oxide will be absorbed by the mask and evacuated from the room, Elin Lindkvist clarifies.

As early as in April, several groups of experts recommended women diagnosed with Covid-19 to use nitrous oxide during childbirth, if they so wish. Those recommendations remain.