eating and labor/delivery

bigislandhi

just wondering, is it ok to eat/drink before you reach the pushing phase during delivery?  if you are getting an epidural, does all eating/drinking stop before you go to the hospital?   thanks for your input in advance.

IdahoGirl

They didn't let me eat because I was getting an epidural when I could.

And honestly, I didn't want to.  DH ate while I was laboring and the smell made me sick.

blueLu25

If you are at the hospital, I dont think they let you eat while pushing. And like ID said, you wont want to anyway!

blueLu25

Ok I totally read your question wrong. Just ignore me.

chibipoe

My L&D nurse had to talk the doctor into letting me eat once I was admitted. I was just getting ready to make dinner when they told me to come in so I didn't get a chance to eat and I was starving. So they let me have a plate of fruit. Of course when it got to the last hour or so of contractions the whole plate came back up. Take my advice: eat before you head for the hospital then you don't even have to worry about it.

stacylu

I checked in at 4pm and didn't eat for the next 30 hrs. I wasn't hungry but we ate on the drive to the hospital after my water had broke since I hadn't feel her move in a while.

pearly1

Where I'm delivering they encourage you to eat as much as you want, to keep your energy up.

babyaustin725

I think it depends on where you deliver and your doctor.  I was not allowed to eat and BOY was I starving.  When Tillman came out, I asked for the cafeteria menu.

noisy_penguin

I was induced and it looked like things were going to take a lot longer than they did, so they brought me dinner (and told Lorne he could go buy me something better).

applecider

My hospital (Swedish) only allowed clear liquids and jello but the nurse told us she'd look the other way if DH ordered anything.

greenmtbride

blueLu25:

If you are at the hospital, I dont think they let you eat while pushing. And like ID said, you wont want to anyway!

greenmtbride

blueLu25:

If you are at the hospital, I dont think they let you eat while pushing. And like ID said, you wont want to anyway!

greenmtbride

ooops.  just meant to LOL at "eat while pushing!" 

asianbymarriage

Ditto the PP - every hospital's different. Some are more lax on this. Maybe call and see what their policy is? It's because if you should need a c-section, or any surgery where certain anesthetics are necessary, having food in your stomach can create complications w/the anesthetic. Same as when they make ppl fast for any surgery. That's what I've heard, anyway.

Em7.31.04

I got my epi at 8cm.  I ate dinner during my labor up to that point.

braveangel2

They didn't let me eat either, but my mom convinced the nurse to let me have a protein shake (she body-builds), and that helped me soooo much.

JillyJ

I was induced so knew exactly when I was going into the hospital (Evergreen) and ate a huge breakfast that morning knowing that my eating might be limited.  They had things like yogurt, popcicles, jello, etc on hand that I could have eaten prior to the epidural, but I opted for the epidural before I got hungry for those things.  Once I got the epidural, I wasn't allowed to eat anything.  My blood sugar got super low and I started to feel really weak and shaky, so they gave me some sort of sugar water solution through my IV.  That helped.  I ended up with a c-section and didn't get to eat anything until the next day, and was only able to eat easy to digest things for the first couple of meals.  This time around, assuming I'm able to try for a VBAC, I am going to demand that they let me eat if I start to feel shaky or weak (I'm not planning on an epidural, so that shouldnt be an issue...).  And if they say no to the food for some reason, I just might smuggle a little snack into the bathroom... ;-)