Reply to Why just clear liquids during labor

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[quote=Anonymous]As PP said, getting an epidural doesn't necessarily guarantee that you won't get general anesthesia for a cesarean.  It is possible that someone would end up with general anesthesia if their epidural hadn't been working properly. Often in this case, they'll try a spinal, but if that doesn't work either, a general anesthesia might be used.  As PPs have said, needing general anesthesia for a cesarean birth is very, very rare, though it does happen.  My understanding is that anesthetic techniques have changed such that the risk of aspiration is very low, even if a woman has eaten recently.  I find this all very confusing though, because some anesthesiologist seem to feel that the risk is still there, while others do not.  I tend to trust the research studies though, and the ones I've seen all suggest that denying food and drink is not beneficial.

With regards to MCA, I've attended a fair number of births with them as a doula, and have had clients eat and drink as much as they wanted, and no one has ever said anything to the clients.  I don't know what the policy is officially, but they are supportive of women eating and drinking during labor.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]if you have an epidural, isn't the vomit risk during anethesia much lower[/b]?  Isn't the vomit risk if you have a general, and there is a tube in your throat?
 I didn't feel like eating during labor, but did bring white grape juice was tasted great.  The hospital policy was ice chips / water.
[/quote]

Well, that's not exactly right -- if you have an epidural you are still likely to vomit; however if you have an epidural in place (that is working correctly) then you wouldn't need general anesthesia at all if you do wind up needing surgery.  Epidurals or spinals are the anesthesia of choice for c/s; GA is only used in an extreme emergency for a woman who had been totally unmedicated and there is no time to start an epidural.  This in itself is extraordinarily rare.  Also it should be noted that one can still vomit stomach bile, even if the stomach is otherwise empty.  Many women vomit during cesareans, but because they have an epidural in place they are awake enough to turn their head and/or not inhale any particles.

By the way, there has been some research showing that women tend to vomit more frequently if they have had food and drink withheld from them; that the vomiting is (in part) due to imbalances caused by lack of nutrition during labor.[/quote][/quote]

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