Eating during labor

Annsor

How many mommas were told no food once labor has started? Is this a normal practice? My friend just told me she didn't eat for 72 hours during her labor! what?!? I was eating a donut right up to when I started having to push. What's your opinion on this?

Stasi

Sometimes a hospital will not allow you to eat anything beside Popsicles or clear liquids once you are admitted. FTMs (or women at a new hospital) should ask about this during the hospital tour for sure.

When you go into labor, your best bet is to:

1) SLEEP, after you give birth (which can take 24+ hours of laboring with no sleep, you will be up every 2 hours for weeks if you plan to breastfeed

2) eat a big meal so you don't have to do all that work on an empty stomach.

PSA over

Hward1015

When I had DD, the nurses offered me basics and said I could eat - just suggested I keep it light. The last thing I felt like doing was eating. I had a 6 hour labor, I'm sure if it had been longer I would have ate something. 

LTMama

I think DH got me Wendy's when I was in the hospital in labor.  That was in the evening, pre-epidural.  I don't remember the hospital staff saying anything to us about food one way or the other, but I was also having PTL and no one thought I would deliver for a few days.

FYI I was throwing up a lot right before and after delivery.  I don't know if that would affect a food recommendation.  My entire experience was atypical, though, so I'm not sure if my advice is helpful

trebekastan

This is my completely uninformed opinion, but don't they put people under all the time for unplanned surgeries. They seem to be able to figure it out then. I'm very suspicious of doctors and think a lot of the things are for their convenience. Not sure if this is one of them.

Stasi

lstrejcek said:

This is my completely uninformed opinion, but don't they put people under all the time for unplanned surgeries. They seem to be able to figure it out then. I'm very suspicious of doctors and think a lot of the things are for their convenience. Not sure if this is one of them.

I have a friend who is an anesthesiologist and aspirating during a procedure at the best can land you in the ICU for a few days while the particles you vomited during your procedure work out of your lungs (usually ends up in a bad case of pneumonia)  at the worst you choke and die. It's a very real thing...but you have to weight not eating with the chance that you would end up in an emergency C-section.

Plus, have you ever heard of a planned surgery where the doctor said it was fine to eat right up until it was time for the procedure? Because I have not.

portentosa

I was checked in at 5pm NYE and had a big burger for dinner around 9pm when it was clear I was going no where. I had snacks packed in my bag but didn't feel much like eating the next day. I threw up the next night about an hour before DS finally came out so I'm glad I didn't eat much. I went 26 hours between my burger and DS coming out with nothing but ice chips to eat. I ate a really big breakfast the next day though!!

Stasi

trombgirl said:

I was checked in at 5pm NYE and had a big burger for dinner around 9pm when it was clear I was going no where. I had snacks packed in my bag but didn't feel much like eating the next day. I threw up the next night about an hour before DS finally came out so I'm glad I didn't eat much. I went 26 hours between my burger and DS coming out with nothing but ice chips to eat. I ate a really big breakfast the next day though!!

Yeah...that awesome wave of nausea when you're in transition/pushing...I forgot about that.

LovingStepMom

Yes...as soon as we actually got into the room, there was no food allowed for me until I delivered the baby.  I just told DH to have some in my bag and I would much in bey\tween nurse visits if I needed to...but I honestly never got hungry.

Athena0809

I find it hard to believe how much divided the medical community and the natural world is in this topic. With DS my OB told no food, no drinks, and they only gave me a popsicle (most likely artificial coloring and flavor, yuck!) but back then I was just so ignorant about all the natural practices. This time around all the midwives and doulas I've spoken with recommend eating and drinking during labor, and sleeping! The worst thing for pushing is a dehydrated, hungry, and tired mama.

trebekastan

Stasi said:

lstrejcek said:

This is my completely uninformed opinion, but don't they put people under all the time for unplanned surgeries. They seem to be able to figure it out then. I'm very suspicious of doctors and think a lot of the things are for their convenience. Not sure if this is one of them.

I have a friend who is an anesthesiologist and aspirating during a procedure at the best can land you in the ICU for a few days while the particles you vomited during your procedure work out of your lungs (usually ends up in a bad case of pneumonia)  at the worst you choke and die. It's a very real thing...but you have to weight not eating with the chance that you would end up in an emergency C-section.

Plus, have you ever heard of a planned surgery where the doctor said it was fine to eat right up until it was time for the procedure? Because I have not.


I haven't heard of a planned procedure that would let you, but I was thinking along the lines of the lady above. If you are in labor for 2 days, how can not eating be beneficial. Ideally you wouldn't eat if it was planned to keep everything as controlled as possible.

trebekastan

zoeygirl1105 said:

lstrejcek said:

This is my completely uninformed opinion, but don't they put people under all the time for unplanned surgeries. They seem to be able to figure it out then. I'm very suspicious of doctors and think a lot of the things are for their convenience. Not sure if this is one of them.

Just because it's unplanned or an emergency doesn't mean it still doesn't have risks. In that case they get the patient to the OR to save their life. If a woman is laboring in the hospital then they can somewhat try to control it in case it does end up in surgery. They cancel scheduled surgeries all the time when someone decided to eat. While the risk of aspirating is low it can still happen. I'm sure you would want to cover your ass as a doctor with all the sue happy people. I promise my husband doesn't do it for his convenience. I'm not sure how that would be convenient for him? He's trying to protect his patients from something bad happening. Not all doctors are bad people.

I can see both sides of the argument because they wouldn't let me eat for over 24hrs and I was a grumpy mess. 

No I definitely don't mean doctors as individuals, just the standard practices. I'm sure it's easier to say no eating ever for anyone as a general hospital rule instead of spending time determining on a case by case basis. I don't mean this negatively toward anyone in the healthcare industry (my husband is finishing up nursing school as we speak) I am just genuinely curious which practices are there for pure safety and which have a bit of business efficiency to them.

poptart109

My dr told me to eat something small and light before my induction. I ate a fruit cup at 530am, induction started at 8 and could only have ice til after baby was born at 3pm.

hunterjumper102

I wasn't allowed to eat and honestly it didn't bother me.  I was in labor for 19 hours before my c-section.  I had breakfast before getting to the hospital but that was it.

ErinLillian

I wasn't allowed to have anything to eat or drink.. not even many ice chips either. I think in case of c section and also probably so I didn't throw up during labor. I'm really glad I wasn't allowed anything because I became extremely Nauseous while pushing even though I had zofran.

kyashley1227

I was in labor for 22 hours with DD and wasn't allowed to have anything except ice chips and Popsicles.

Irisheyes1247

I ate at home. My water broke as my first sign of labor with dd1, and the first thing I did was make myself a bowl of oatmeal, in case I was in for a long haul. That was around midnight. I walked, showered and went back to bed and was up around 4:30 with contractions - dh made me some toast and oatmeal, but by then, I wasn't really feeling like eating and maybe had half. DD1 was born in the ER, so obviously we were not at the hospital for long. 

WIth DD2, I woke up and noticed contractions and had breakfast, took dd1 to daycare and went to work. I was at work for 6 hours and I don't specifically remember eating or avoiding anything. I'm sure I had lunch, but dd wasn't born until almost 9pm, so I was SO hungry after she was born. 

jenn2714

I never had the desire to eat when in labor, my first labor started at 430am on the 5th and he wasnt born until 929am on the 6th. I had eaten a little breakfast and a little lunch but by the time dinner came I was not hungry. My second I went into labor right after eating dinner and he was born early am before breakfast so I wasnt hungy. My third I went into labor in the am and he was born around noon, I never even thought to eat, I was more concerned with getting to the hospital and dealing with the pain. 

ve304856

I was not allowed to eat during labor but I didn't even want to think about food. However after I had DS i was starving and sent my sister down to the cafe to get some food. When the nurse came in and saw me eating I got yelled at the I still wasn't allowed to eat until an hour or 2 after I gave birth just in case I hemorrhaged and had to go in for surgery.

Irisheyes1247

23Melissa28 said:

A lot of hospitals won't let you. They won't even let you drink (which sucked for me because I'm a HUGE water drinker and drink it all the time). I was able to have ice chips but that was it. But as soon as Junior was out they brought me breakfast and juice.
I can't bitch too much though. I was in labor for 3 hours with my daughter, 5 hours 40 minutes with Jr. That's from water breaking to them being born.

Wow I can't believe they didn't even let you have water! I still vividly remember arriving in the ER from the ambulance doing the "hee hee hoo" breathing and basically wanting to marry the nurse who brought me an ice water. Funny how different things are in different areas!

trebekastan

zoeygirl1105 said:

@istrejcek It would still be impossible even on a case by case basis. With that thinking then I would have qualified to eat during my labor. I was very low risk and my labor was progressing normally. Things didn't go wrong until my last minute of pushing. I was seconds away from a crash csection. No one could have predicted that. That's why they have these policy's in place for the patients safety. How is it business efficient for them to keep you from eating?

This is why I started out by saying it was an uninformed opinion. Should I not pose questions or opinions if I've never been through birth before, because that's what I'm starting to feel like. No sarcasm or disrespect intended.

trebekastan

Grace0609 said:

lstrejcek said:

This is my completely uninformed opinion, but don't they put people under all the time for unplanned surgeries. They seem to be able to figure it out then. I'm very suspicious of doctors and think a lot of the things are for their convenience. Not sure if this is one of them.

Oh yes. Don't worry about the risk of aspiration pneumonia or general anesthesia in general in a pregnant woman. That makes total sense that a doctor would "starve" you for his or her comvenience. You need to do some reading.

I didn't say it made sense. I made a general inquiry as to the validity of this policy.

trebekastan

@zoeygirl1105 I can appreciate that. I really want to connect and learn, I just feel like an idiot because I think I'm that person that everyone thinks is an asshole. I promise I'm not.

trebekastan

Well I appreciate the vote of confidence. Tell that to my husband I just yelled at because we missed our dinner reservation and I could eat a cow (or my husband).

wcjc7707

I had no desire to eat during labor.

BookitBoo

I wasn't interested in eating at all, but I was terribly thirsty. 19 hours with nothing but ice chips, and an ER c-section later it made sense that I wasn't allowed food (I would have very likely hurled I was so upset).

My night nurse however was terrible and I didn't get anything to drink for another 2 or 3 hours after I had given birth. DH asked for the ice water and so did I, and he wanted to leave and get the water himself or find the nurse but I begged him to stay.

We will definitely be checking out the maternity ward this Time around, so that we know where the water and ice machines are ourselves.

bookqueen

I was in labor for 18 hours last time and didn't even think of food most of the time, I just had ice water. When I was done, I made DH sneak me in some Burger King.

WhitEm14

I was induced and was told that I would only be able to have clear liquids after induction, so the morning of induction we went out for breakfast and I ate like a horse (at 6am). I did not eat solid food again until 8pm the following day. So yeah, be ready for that.

roashem2008

I wasn't convinced I was in labor when I was so I ate a slice of pizza because I thought I was starving. I ended up throwing up anyways, so this time I probably won't eat and if I do it will be something small and light. I didn't eat again until the next morning when I wanted to eat all the things.

megs2011

I'm not much help here but I want to let you know my experience. I had an unplanned c/s with my twins. I went in for a routine NST and they kept me for more testing because the NST wasn't getting good results. I ate lunch and I ended up needing the c/s. Well, because I had eaten, I ended up throwing up on the OR table twice before they started. I wouldn't recommend eating.. but that's my opinion.