Not eating before c/s? I don't think I can!

The_Jen626 · September 2012

My c/s is scheduled for Oct 2nd, arriving at the hospital at 9:30am for an 11am ish surgery. My OB gave me the list of rules, and one of them is "no eating after midnight". I'm normally up every 2-3 hours during the night to eat, because I am starving. Like last night I ate a croissant around midnight, a granola bar around 3am, a banana around 6am, then woke up and had a bowl of cereal at 10am, and some toast with peanut butter at 11am. If I don't get out of bed and eat, I feel really nauseous and pukey.

Last night as I was eating my banana, I was thinking "there's no way I will be able to not eat for 10 ish hours" Crying

My first c/s was unexpected, and I had eaten about 4 hours before the surgery, they just gave me a drink of something nasty to neutralize my stomach. It tasted disgusting! But it worked apparently.

I have another appointment on Tuesday and will be asking my OB about it then...but just curious, if you had to fast, did you make it ok? Is there something that's REALLY filling that I could eat around 11:45pm that would make me feel full for 10+ hours?

honkytonk_kid · September 2012

Personally there's nothing I could eat that would last me 10 hours... I'm on team hungry girl with you I found out around 10am I was having a c/s at 5pm (breech). I had actually not had breakfast in my rush to get to my appointment, and had been sitting in the waiting room pondering what I was going to eat after the appointment... so sad... So yes, I was super hungry, but nerves and excitement dulled it a little for me.

And actually the latest research shows that being "NPO (nothing to eat or drink) after midnight" for most surgeries is excessive, and that 6-8 hours of fasting is sufficient, and water even up to 2 hours prior is fine. Obviously practice has not caught up to research. It's a massive CYA, as it's easier to enforce nothing after midnight that to trust patients to, you know, competently assist in the management of their own care. I'm definitely not saying ignore your doc's rules, but you can always ask about it at your next appointment.

lil_jen051708 · September 2012

I'm not sure there is anything that's going to fill you up. Maybe eat a "full" meal at 11 or midnight instead of snacks? I was supposed to have a 3 pm c/s an had the same rule. However my water broke about 2.5 hrs after I ate. They wanted to wait 6 hours after my snack before going to the OR but we went at 5 hours and I wasn't given anything to drink.

MichelleL1118 · September 2012

Normally I don't advise people to not follow doctor's orders, but my scheduled c/s with DS (and this one) have me reporting to the hospital at 6:30am for 8:00am surgery, with no eating/drinking after midnight. So that's 8 hours or so between the "last meal" and surgery. I don't need to eat all night to feel OK, but since you do, I'd say you're probably fine to at least have your 3am snack - since that would still put you 8+ hours out from eating by the time of surgery --- especially since an 11am scheduled c/s time could end up being much later than that if there are emergencies, etc, that day. I'd have a snack that's really high in protein at both midnight & 3am if I were you.

lovebug33 · September 2012

Heck, I was told only yogurt or a granola bar for my intended induction. So, I ate yogurt at 7 and did not get to eat until 8:30 the next morning because I had the c-section. I nearly thought I was going to die I was so hungry. I don't think I've ever gone 25 hours without food. It was awful!

mkinMI · September 2012

I'm having the same issue. I guess I was spoiled and didn't know it with my first two c-sections. My surgeries were both done at 8am and I didn't really have a problem with the no food after midnight. This time I got my paperwork and it's scheduled for 3pm (and I'm hoping and praying I don't get bumped later if any emergencies happen) and it says I can't eat after midnight. WHAT??????? I am going to have a serious problem with that. On top of the fact that I am pretty sure I have GD again this time around, so it's not like I can seriously pig out right before midnight in hopes that it would tie me over until 3pm.

I was going to talk to my OB about it at my next appt. Like PP said, I'm sure it's fine if it's more like 6-8 hours, they just say midnight to CTA and don't trust some patients to be able to stick to to that.

ladybugpjb · September 2012

I threw up during my unplanned c-section, so I will be listening to whatever the doctor tells me next time.

HarrietNJMommy · September 2012

I've had 3 scheduled c-sections, and I've never had anything after midnight and I've been okay. I don't think it's a big deal though.

BUT, I'm not getting up eating at all hours of the night.........

I'm going to have my 4th c-section this week, and don't anticipate a problem. At my hospital, if it's a scheduled c-section and you've eaten, they WILL make you wait 6 hours. That's not worth it for me, so I'll just fast.

GL!

pepomntpat · September 2012

HarrietNJMommy:
I've had 3 scheduled c-sections, and I've never had anything after midnight and I've been okay. I don't think it's a big deal though.
BUT, I'm not getting up eating at all hours of the night.........
I'm going to have my 4th c-section this week, and don't anticipate a problem. At my hospital, if it's a scheduled c-section and you've eaten, they WILL make you wait 6 hours. That's not worth it for me, so I'll just fast.
GL!

So, they make you wait six hours? Six hours is what current research is saying is reasonable. That's a big difference from 11 hours which is what the OP was told.

I would talk to your OB as this seems unreasonable for a pregnant woman. Really for any person, but especially a pregnant one.

HarrietNJMommy · September 2012

pepomntpat:
HarrietNJMommy:
I've had 3 scheduled c-sections, and I've never had anything after midnight and I've been okay. I don't think it's a big deal though.
BUT, I'm not getting up eating at all hours of the night.........
I'm going to have my 4th c-section this week, and don't anticipate a problem. At my hospital, if it's a scheduled c-section and you've eaten, they WILL make you wait 6 hours. That's not worth it for me, so I'll just fast.
GL!
So, they make you wait six hours? Six hours is what current research is saying is reasonable. That's a big difference from 11 hours which is what the OP was told.
I would talk to your OB as this seems unreasonable for a pregnant woman. Really for any person, but especially a pregnant one.

Yes, they will make you wait 6 hours from the time you're eaten. So, let's say your c-section is scheduled for 8am, and you had something to eat at 6am. The earliest your c-section would be is 12 noon..........I, personally, would hate to be just "hanging out" at the hospital for another 4 hours.........

I don't know. I'm usually asleep at night normally, so I don't think it's a big deal to not eat during the night (after midnight).

And trust me, I'm a total "foodie" and I love food, but I can do this for one day......

sam19 · September 2012

I had to not eat anything after midnight and had to be at the hospital by 6 am. I think I was just too excited/nervous to really be thinking about food because I don't remember being that hungry.

vlagrl29 · September 2012

you sound like me when i was pregnant and I hated that my life had to revolve around food. plus if i didn't eat i would get sick and when i was hungry i wanted to bite someone's arm off. at that point in my pregnancy i was only eating 1 time during the night and i would just eat about 6 crackers, just enough to feel food in my tummy. i was told not to eat after midnight as well, but i still did. when i woke at 4am i still had my crackers and i even made oatmeal the morning of but DH took it away from me.

pepomntpat · September 2012

I don't know. It just seems over the top. I had an unplanned c/s. I'd eaten a fairly big lunch and half a granola bar at some point after that. They gave me a side eye, but still did the c/s and it was fine.

It just really seems excessive, especially since in all likelihood you end up hanging out at the hospital anyway. I know my sister did. Hurry up and get to the hospital. Your baby is breech and your fluid is low! Oh, well, we are busy. Just hang out and get comfortable.

Yeah...it would definitely be something I'd fine tune with my OB.

kcisthebombdotcom · September 2012

During my first delivery, I went in the hospital at 3pm on a Friday. I didnt eat until Sunday afternoon since I was in labor for quite a while before my eventual c-section. After a while you stop being hungry because your body adjusts. I was also to eat popsicles and jell-o though. Maybe share your concerns with your OB and see what he says? He may say just 6 hours prior to your surgery and the 12pm rule is just a standard since most people aren't getting up in the middle of the night to eat.

RayRay007 · September 2012

I had an emergency c/s and had eaten a big breakfast about 2.5 hours before. They didn't give me anything for it either. The risk of having to undergo GA and then aspirating is really very low. However, I think they recommend you don't eat also because they don't want you to vomit after or have full bowels because they are pretty sluggish after. Do your research and weigh the risks. If I wasn't having surgery until 11am, I'd eat a regular breakfast.

emberlee3 · September 2012

I was scheduled for L&D at 12:30 pm, so had to be NPO for 12+ hours. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I had planned to wake up at midnight to eat, but I fell asleep at 9ish and didn't wake up. I actually didn't eat until about 9 pm after my c/s. They wanted me to wait 6 hours for some reason. I drank water until a few hours before I left for the hospital. I was nervous, so didn't really feel like eating, anyway. I was starving afterward, though!

JG362009 · September 2012

You'll be fine! We had to be there at 8 for a 10 am surgery. I had a really nice dinner with my family the night before (caprese paninis, not that it matters) and that there was so much going on it was the last thing I was thinking about. I really didn't feel like eating until that evening and I think I had like sherbert and apple juice. I thought of it as a jump start on my post partum diet -- ha!

The_Jen626 · September 2012

wife07mom09:

standard of care. why in the world would you out yourself possibly at risk just because you are hungry. you will be ok. promise.

then you can drink all you want after surgery. just so you know you cant eat after until you pass gas which may be a few days.

Uh, thanks?

The reason I asked is because it seems crazy to have to wait 11 hours to eat, when I'm 39 weeks pregnant. I would be fine with 6-8 hours, that's what I was expecting.

The paperwork they gave me is a generic list of rules that just says "no food after midnight the night before surgery". I know that they schedule the first surgery of the day to arrive at 7am, and the 2nd to arrive at 9:30 am. So, the first person only has to fast for 7-8 hours before surgery, but the 2nd person has to fast for 9-10 hours? Seems absurd to me. And as every single other responder has noted, it seems like a long time to them too.

Also, I ate a few hours before my first c/s and was fine. And I asked the nurse if I could eat as soon as I got into the long-term recovery room, which was about 3 hours after surgery. I definetly didn't pass gas before then, and it wasn't "days", I was 3 hours post c/s.

sk8erdevil19 · September 2012

I had my c-section at 3pm, Scheduled, and they still wouldn't allow me to eat anything after midnight...I was the same way I was constantly sick if I didn't eat after I got out of bed. I ended up eating up until midnight, and when I woke up I was ok for a few hours then around 10am right when I was getting ready to leave I got sick, Then I was fine until the surgery. You'll be ok, but don't expect your OB to sympathize and let you eat, mine didn't and it made me sad.

Natesmom05 · September 2012

I started dry heaving during my last c/s. Thank goodness I hadn't eaten anything. It was miserable enough, I can't imagine actually throwing stuff up while being operated on.

vlagrl29 · September 2012

The_Jen626:
wife07mom09:

standard of care. why in the world would you out yourself possibly at risk just because you are hungry. you will be ok. promise.

then you can drink all you want after surgery. just so you know you cant eat after until you pass gas which may be a few days.

Uh, thanks?

The reason I asked is because it seems crazy to have to wait 11 hours to eat, when I'm 39 weeks pregnant. I would be fine with 6-8 hours, that's what I was expecting.

The paperwork they gave me is a generic list of rules that just says "no food after midnight the night before surgery". I know that they schedule the first surgery of the day to arrive at 7am, and the 2nd to arrive at 9:30 am. So, the first person only has to fast for 7-8 hours before surgery, but the 2nd person has to fast for 9-10 hours? Seems absurd to me. And as every single other responder has noted, it seems like a long time to them too.

Also, I ate a few hours before my first c/s and was fine. And I asked the nurse if I could eat as soon as I got into the long-term recovery room, which was about 3 hours after surgery. I definetly didn't pass gas before then, and it wasn't "days", I was 3 hours post c/s.

I didn't have to wait until I passed gas. my c/section was at midnight and I ate my liquid meal around lunch time the next day. I was soooo ready because I had not eaten since the midnight before that! I think the nurse felt sorry for me and let me eat quicker than most are allowed.

sinisterkat01 · September 2012

It's a tough call. The rules really are in place to protect patients, and if there were any aspiration that did occur, you would probably be very glad that you had followed instructions, even though it is rare. 8 hours seems like a resonable amount of time though, so I might just talk to your OB, and see if you could start fasting at a later time. But I would not get up and eat any sort of normal breakfast.

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