Eating during labor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I spoke with my sister, who is an OB, about this just last night. Some women vomit during labor (about 7 cm is when this generally starts), so the no eating rule is for that purpose.

That's crazy. I should not eat or drink for potentially several days just in case I throw up toward the end? I'll take my chances, thank you. And why should the hospital be the one to make the decision for me? And, as anyone knows who has vomited on an empty stomach, throwing up just stomach bile is often worse than throwing up food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so interesting. I delivered in Japan, at a Japanese birthing center. Eating was allowed during labor; the center's chef even came upstairs to ask me what I'd like to have for lunch that day!

Man, I wish I was having this baby in Japan!

Oh, don't even get me started on the ways I was pampered there. The place was like a little bed-and-breakfast---no, I am not kidding. Comfortable, non-hospital bed, quilts, a lovely sofa for my husband, pink curtains on the windows...There was a lady there who washed, dried and brushed my hair every other day. The chef prepared gourmet foods each day, to each mothers' liking. The nurses were superb and oh-so-polite (but that's part of Japanese culture). I was there for five days for a normal vaginal birth. On my final day, I was served a lobster dinner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I spoke with my sister, who is an OB, about this just last night. Some women vomit during labor (about 7 cm is when this generally starts), so the no eating rule is for that purpose.

your sister, the "OB", might want to take some refresher courses on birthing. this is just plain stupid. she may be perfectly skilled with a scalpel, but doesn't sound the least bit informed about the birthing process (surgery ain't a biological process).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it hospital policy, or the policy of the provider? I will also be delivering at Washington Hospital Center but with a midwife. I had assumed her rules would be more lax and I would be able to eat/drink. Anyone know?

They want you to eat if you need to.

I delivered with the DCBC midwives at WHC, and suspect they would have let me eat if I'd wanted to. I didn't ask, but they were very supportive and flexible, and the attending doc never came into the room at all. That said, I was one of the women who vomited for a good portion of my labor (and starting before 7 cm). In early labor, I was definitely hungry, and had a big yummy plate of delish ravioli at home, when my contractions were at about 3 minutes apart (had been in early labor all day at that point). I went to WHC late that night, after about 14 hours of labor, when cx had accelerated to about 1 1/2 to 2 mins apart. After that, I had no interest in food whatsoever for the next 16 hours of hard laboring (yes, 16 hours, despite having cx 1 1/2 mins apart), because I was nauseated, heaving, vomiting, etc. much of the time, and otherwise "distracted" by the intense work of labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spoke with my sister, who is an OB, about this just last night. Some women vomit during labor (about 7 cm is when this generally starts), so the no eating rule is for that purpose.

your sister, the "OB", might want to take some refresher courses on birthing. this is just plain stupid. she may be perfectly skilled with a scalpel, but doesn't sound the least bit informed about the birthing process (surgery ain't a biological process).

What the hell is your problem? The PP is trying to offer information and you're just being a bitch about it. Gee - biased about physicians at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Oh, don't even get me started on the ways I was pampered there. The place was like a little bed-and-breakfast---no, I am not kidding. Comfortable, non-hospital bed, quilts, a lovely sofa for my husband, pink curtains on the windows...There was a lady there who washed, dried and brushed my hair every other day. The chef prepared gourmet foods each day, to each mothers' liking. The nurses were superb and oh-so-polite (but that's part of Japanese culture). I was there for five days for a normal vaginal birth. On my final day, I was served a lobster dinner!

That is so interesting! My husband is Japanese and my ILs live in Japan...maybe for baby #2 I can try to figure out a way to have the baby there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Oh, don't even get me started on the ways I was pampered there. The place was like a little bed-and-breakfast---no, I am not kidding. Comfortable, non-hospital bed, quilts, a lovely sofa for my husband, pink curtains on the windows...There was a lady there who washed, dried and brushed my hair every other day. The chef prepared gourmet foods each day, to each mothers' liking. The nurses were superb and oh-so-polite (but that's part of Japanese culture). I was there for five days for a normal vaginal birth. On my final day, I was served a lobster dinner!

That is so interesting! My husband is Japanese and my ILs live in Japan...maybe for baby #2 I can try to figure out a way to have the baby there!

I totally angled to have our second and third babies in Japan...but no go. Let me just say that the American hospital birth after a lovely Japanese birthing center birth was quite a shock to my system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spoke with my sister, who is an OB, about this just last night. Some women vomit during labor (about 7 cm is when this generally starts), so the no eating rule is for that purpose.

your sister, the "OB", might want to take some refresher courses on birthing. this is just plain stupid. she may be perfectly skilled with a scalpel, but doesn't sound the least bit informed about the birthing process (surgery ain't a biological process).

What the hell is your problem? The PP is trying to offer information and you're just being a bitch about it. Gee - biased about physicians at all?

Well, it IS a silly thing for an OB to say. So, you vomit, so what?! Some women will vomit, some women won't. Vomiting food is better than vomiting stomach bile. Obviously no one is advocating a woman eat if she doesn't feel like it, but this conversation is more about women who WANT to, being told that it is forbidden. Why not simply allow us to make the choice ourselves? "You may eat, but you should realize there is a good chance it might come back up later in labor." Instead, they treat us like we are infants, starve us into oblivion, and then wonder why we can't push our babies out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, it IS a silly thing for an OB to say. So, you vomit, so what?! Some women will vomit, some women won't. Vomiting food is better than vomiting stomach bile. Obviously no one is advocating a woman eat if she doesn't feel like it, but this conversation is more about women who WANT to, being told that it is forbidden. Why not simply allow us to make the choice ourselves? "You may eat, but you should realize there is a good chance it might come back up later in labor." Instead, they treat us like we are infants, starve us into oblivion, and then wonder why we can't push our babies out.

It's not silly for her sister the OB to give her an explanation of why that no-eating policy is in place in many hospitals. It's giving her factual information, which she then passed on to us. PP didn't say that her sister agreed with it, or was advocating for it. She was simply sharing the information with those of us here on the forum. Seriously, don't be in such a hurry to be so nasty.

[Anonymous]

I delivered with a midwife (who let me eat). I ate random things here and there, and eventually really wanted canteloupe. Mmmmm. Sugar, water, excellent. I totally threw up at one point. It was no big deal. I have heard midwives call vomiting "a free centimeter," because it makes you dilate a whole centimeter!

The no-eating thing (when justified as being about vomit as opposed to anesthesia) reminds me a little of the now-obsolete mandatory-enema rule. God forbid we should poop, god forbid we should throw up, you know? Labor's messy; that's what it takes to get a hard job done!

[Anonymous]

BTW, OP -- just ask your midwife. I assume it's Whitney Pinger or the FHBC crew, and I think both let you eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The no-eating thing (when justified as being about vomit as opposed to anesthesia) reminds me a little of the now-obsolete mandatory-enema rule. God forbid we should poop, god forbid we should throw up, you know? Labor's messy; that's what it takes to get a hard job done!

Don't forget the now obsolete shaving that used to occur!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The no-eating thing (when justified as being about vomit as opposed to anesthesia) reminds me a little of the now-obsolete mandatory-enema rule. God forbid we should poop, god forbid we should throw up, you know? Labor's messy; that's what it takes to get a hard job done!

So true! I snuck snacks into Alexandria Hospital, but delivered with midwives who were willing to look the other way. I think the no eating rule is absolutely silly and part of the OB/hospital world's way of making labor more "clean." I felt like labor was a lot like running a marathon. You might want some little snacks with protein to get you through but most likely you won't want a huge meal while you're in the middle of the physical challenge.

I did throw up once (when the pitocin kicked in) but it was no big deal, especially considering how much I had already vomited during my pregnancy!

[Anonymous]

My OB had an entirely different reason for asking me not to eat from what PP's sister the "OB" said, which is deference to the anaesthesiologist's request. My OB is the one who let me eat when I said I would sneak it anyway. For the record, I ate 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some soup and did not throw up at any point so eating is no guarantee of vomiting. Also, for those talking about gatorade, it's always allowed. It is considered transparent (though the proper term would be translucent, no?) while something like coke or orange juice would not be considered transparent. Eat if you want to! It's a liability thing more than anything else, on the anaesthesiologists end. Agree with other posters who say it's like running a marathon on empty. Why would anyone in their right mind fast before the athletic event of their lives?

[Anonymous]

My water broke at 6:30 am so I got to Sibley on an empty stomach. I had no natural labor or dilation so they induced almost immediately, and I asked for food so they agreed to let me try some apple juice...yep, right back up. Not what I needed in addition to a rapidly progressing labor! So this time, if my water breaks, I'm eating before I get to the hospital, just in case the pitocen is needed. Part of the reason I broke down and got an epi was because I was so exhausted from the contractions, and since I get hypoglycemic if I don't eat every few hours, labor might have been easier to deal with if I had a good meal behind me. Of course, I am crossing my fingers that things happen naturally this time! Regardless, if my water breaks or I go into labor, I am eating like there's no tomorrow and bringing snacks with me. Remember, hospitals can't tell you to do ANYTHING.