[The first labor analgesia with drug was performed in late Meiji Period (1868-1912). Hypnosis also attracted attention as a method of labor analgesia in mid-Meiji Period].

Ether or chloroform, was in use for ambulatory surgery after 1861 in Japan. An inhalational anesthetic, especially chloroform, was administered for cesarean section in early Meiji Period (from 1868) up to 1897. According to an article in 1903, chloroform was recommended as a strategy for internal cephalic version. However, it is uncertain whether inhalational anesthetic had been utilized for vaginal deliveries before 1903. There is evidence that hypnosis had attracted attention as a method of labor analgesia around that time.