Eating during labour

[MakiJ]

Hello  did anyone eat during labour? I don't know if I would even feel like eating but since I've had a big appetite throughout my pregnancy I thought I would ask your advice 

[soundsystem]

*starving, not starting

[MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic]

I always throw up during transition, so avoided eating anything with 2nd and 3rd labours. However, I'd pack food for afterwards because depending on what time it's all finished you might have difficulty finding something to eat. I didn't get onto the maternity ward with DS1 until gone 1am, I hadn't eaten for 24hrs by then and was bloody starving. It wasn't until the nurses had kicked DH off home that I realised there was no way to get anything but water until the next day, and even then because I hadn't booked a breakfast the previous day there wasn't one for me. I wasn't happy (and have never stayed over night since)

Anyway tl:dr take food, even if you don't want it before, you might want it after x

[Potentialmadcatlady]

Two long labours-48hours plus... Got given chocolate by nurse during second and threw it up all over the doctor.......and I mean all over him......

[Gardencentregroupie]

I caved and had an epidural after the first 24 hours. Once it kicked in I had a catnap then the midwife brought me some toast! I was starving, I had been very sick before the pain relief came and I hadn't eaten for about 2 days.

[123bananas]

First labour I went to asda shopping for food in the early stages then had dinner. Dd was born the following afternoon by emcs so a good thing I did eat when I did. Couldnt eat anything as the contractions became more intense. Didn't eat until the morning of the day after either as they didnt offer me anything, sooo hungry.

Second labour I ate a light lunch in early stages, but vomited it all up in transition a few hours later. Good thing really as I had another emcs only 6 hours after labour started. Got toast afterwards that time, cardboard hospital toast never tasted so good!

Third time round no labour had elcs so starved from midnight the night before. Couldnt eat for 3 days afterwards either due to bowel ileus which was no fun as it was Christmas and I couldnt eat Christmas dinner. I have made up for it every Christmas since!

[Mamatallica]

I wasn't allowed to eat for over 30 hours in case they had to do a c section, I only survived with lucozade and glucose tablets. I remember pleading with the midwife to let me have one of the cereal bars I'd packed but nope. They did bring me a coffee and a tuna sandwich afterwards though, tasted amazing.

[littletike]

I took loads of food into hospital with me as advised by the midwives when I went in to be induced. They didn't warn me that when I was moved to the birthing suite that I wouldn't be allowed to eat! I was moved at 3am to have my waters broken and hadn't eaten since 6pm! I didn't give birth til 9pm but wasn't given any food til 6am the next morning so about 36 hours without food!

[Mybugslife]

Both my labours were super long, 36 hours with my dd. I had half a sandwich with her and a bite of a ham salad with my ds. I just wasn't hungry.
Stuffed my face afterwards though! Haha

[MakiJ]

Aww fascinating thank you so much for all your advice and sharing your story

[SprogletsMum]

I didn't get chance to eat in labour and was starving after. They've stopped providing toast at my hospital now so I got offered nothing till the next day. I had dd at 9pm breakfast was at 7am.
This time round I will be taking lots of food with me!

[Kel1234]

My early labour was 4 days, so u was eating then. I had a meal at home before I had to go to hospital, and that was all I had until after the birth a a I was all cleaned up, dressed and sorted.

[NotCitrus]

I had usual breakfast cereal before going to hospital both times. First time I had lots of chocolate milk and grapes for about 12 hours, then only a bit of juice in the next 15. And puked over 30 times all over the theatre and recovery room.

Second time just a bit of water and still puked about 20 times, despite almost no stomach contents, so I say eat what you think you need!

[isthistoonosy]

Waters broke at midday, I then had some lunch, contractions started around 1900, I then had a pizza - during that contractions ramped up but I finished and then went home to call the hospital about coming in. It was about 12hrs before I gave birth and I didn't eat me ch during that - some dried fruit, some sweets, some thick juice thong the midwife gave me a couple of times.

[LifeIsGhoulish]

I'm always amazed by the stories of not being allowed to eat during labour. That's not been my experience at all. I was constantly encouraged to eat. The midwives even worried that I turned down food with dc1, and were offering me spoonfuls of honey to keep my energy up! (yeuch, no)

It seems deeply unkind to force a woman to work extremely hard ('labour' hmm?) for an unknowable number of hours, without any food, should she want.

[Blackfellpony]

I couldn't have eaten in labour and struggled to drink.

Managed to eat 3 donuts once it was over though and I was only in labour 4 hours

[Dixiechick17]

No I went straight into established labour and was sick a fair bit. Midwife made me drink still lucozade on the threat of a drip, barely managed that.

[SunnySideDownUp]

Had a very slow start to labour, so ate a bit. But on the day I delivered (at 23:45!) I couldn't eat anything. DH and midwife tried to encourage me to eat but I couldn't. I also didn't drink anywhere near enough and ended up on a drip and with a urine infection.

[elliejjtiny]

I wasn't allowed to eat all day while they decided whether or not to induce me or not. Then I was finally induced at 9pm but still not allowed to eat anything or drink anything that wasn't water (that was room temperature in summer, yuck). I had packed Lucozade and jelly beans but wasn't allowed any. After the emcs I felt so sick for ages, I didn't eat anything for about 12 hours and only tiny amounts for about a week.

[Mummyme87]

Most hospitals will advise you not to eat if you have an epidural or syntocinon drip as you are more likely to end up in theatre with these interventions. When you are pregnant your gastric emptying is slower and if you required a GA you are then at risk of mendelson syndrome. It's a small risk very rare and more often than not to do with anaesthetic technique.

[Fluffsnuts]

Take fruit juice and energy drinks. From the second my labour started I couldn't face eating anything but I was exhausted due to lack of nutrients.

[sycamore54321]

My husband was so excited after rushing back to hospital when my waters finally broke and contractions began in the middle of the night (he'd been sent home after my 18 hours of induction with gels failed to produce anything) that he popped his romantic last Rolo into my mouth, saying it was a little chocolatey epidural. There are very few circumstances where I object to chocolate but I vomited up that one Rolo at the very next contraction. And all the subsequent contractions, which were coming right away every two minutes. For the next three hours. Til I got my blessed epidural which somehow stopped the vomiting too. No idea how one single Rolo that was in my stomach for about 60 seconds managed to reappear with every vomit - it was like the loaves and the fishes.

So no, I wouldn't recommend eating in labour. Or if you do, wat something that you won't be too repulsed by if it re-appears, possibly repeatedly.

However my labour was a fast and furious five hours. A labour with half a day or more of mild tolerable contractions with long gaps between might be different.

I've also seen some nonsense on natural birth websites encouraging eating at all costs because "your body needs eleventy million calories during labour" and largely as a way to defy medical advice and show how independent you are. I'd disregard this entirely, even the longest labours are unlikely to deplete all natural reserves. I would also be aware of the small (and with newest practices, ever reducing) risk of aspiration of emergency surgery was required and so would try to avoid eating unless you really felt a strong need, rather than a just-in-case.

[alltouchedout]

No, but mine are short, intense labours. Had I been hanging around with labour building for hours and hours I'm sure I'd have wanted food. Mind you, wanting it as an idea and actually being able to eat it are very different things!

[BaggyCheeks]

I couldn't face anything other than sips of water, isotonic sport drinks and dextro energy tablets. But I'm an emetophobe and the idea of vomiting during labour was awful for me.

I had labours of 24 hours (7 in active labour) and 9 hours (3 in active labour), and managed fine with that strategy.

[LotisBlue]

My labour with Dc1 was very long and I was starving throughout, I was even eating chocolate between pushes

Dc2 was much quicker and I wasn't really interested in food.

[MakiJ]

Thank you again, I'm now starting to think I need to prepare myself more for the labour and forget about food