Eating in labour

[wobblymum]

I'm really keen on eating during my labour if it's quite long and the mw has said I can do this as long as it's only light snacks but how much do you think would be too much? I don't know how much I'll need to keep my strength up. I'm going to take honey and glucose tablets but if that's not enough, would a few cereal bars and a banana or two be ok?

Thing is, I'm worried about the reaction if I have to have an anaesthetic but if I manage to keep up enough strength to push properly, that could stop the need for one. Also, what about accident victims who happen to have just eaten a huge meal and then get rushed into hospital and need loads of anaesthetic. They cope ok, so how big is the risk really?

This sounds like a really stupid question but I keep thinking about it because I'm worried about all the 'risks' and things that could go wrong.

[bundle]

1st labour - vomiting all way through (contractions seemed to help evacuate my stomach - even though it was empty!) - definitely the worst bit of my labour, made me feel exhausted & dehydrated, coudln't even keep water down. 2nd labour - ate hula hoops at 11am before planned induction but ended up having crash c/s at 2.30pm and anaesthetists tut-tutted as I was wheeled into theatre. vomited on waking up

[motherinferior]

After reading this, am definitely going to stuff myself next time.

[badjelly]

The pain and complexity of it all stopped me from eating but before "they" realised things weren't going right everyone kept trying to shove fruit scones and coffee down me throat!

[mears]

Sambom - I know that it is such a horrible sensation the pressure on your neck as you go to sleep. That is called cricoid pressure and it is done to every pregnant woman having an anaesthetic whether she eats or not. Because pregnancy hormones cause ligaments to relax, the stomach sphincters also relax allowing stomach contents out - the cause of reflux.
The stomach acid itself is the problem if it accidentally goes into the lungs.
Unfortunately the timing of the cricoid pressure going on in your case was perhaps not right as you were so vividly aware of it. Such a horrible experience for you. Hopefully you will remember it less over time. Take care, mears.

[SamboM]

I ate during labour (sandwich etc) but I wished I hadn't because I ended up having a 9 hour general anaesthetic due to huge PPH. They told me that they would have to put some pressure on my windpipe when I was going under in case I vomited, when it came to it they put their hands round my neck like they were strangling me and I remember thinking "If I die this will be the last thing I remember!" Fortunately I didn't die so it wasn't but I still find the memory of it upsetting.

I will definitely not eat next time!

[wobblymum]

I'd already decided that whatever the doctors 'allowed', if I wanted to eat during labour, I was going to. I've heard of so many people who have had epidurals and c-sections when they really didn't want them just because they got too exhausted to carry on by themselves, and I don't want that happening.

I think I'll take tons of food, then if I don't want it then I'm sure, like everyone says, I'll want it later on when there's only hospital cuisine on offer. I'll probably spend the entire time in hospital with baby in one arm and a sandwich in the other!

[mears]

Philipat - it was an antacid - probably Ranitidine. We give it every 6 hours to women in labour who are not allowed to eat. It is given incase you need a general anaesthetic. Pregnant women are at risk of aspirating stomach contents when they are given a general anaesthetic, so it is common to keep the stomach empty of food and the acid neutralised with the tablet. Whether it is absolutely necessary is the unanswered question. Doctors believe it is necessary, not everyone agrees.

[ZsaZsa]

M2T
you iz like a steppin' razor
you'z dangerous

[M2T]

mental note - ZsaZsa drinks, therefore not breastfeeding or pregnant. Keep investigating

[ZsaZsa]

Pantz
i woz Meanin' to swap names back 4 that post but tooo intoxicateted
M2T u iz sharp az a sickle wot az been sharpened maximally

[codswallop]

I had a mars bar against midwife instructions, Fan bloody tastic. Pushed Baby out in seconds

A mars a Day helps you work rest and...
(COMPETITION TIME!!)

[Philippat]

At the time I didn't worry about it (more important things on my mind) but looking back it does worry me that I was given a tablet ' to settle my stomach' on admitance and then told I couldn't eat anything after that.

As I gave birth about 3 hours later it wasn't really an issue (I'd had pancakes at 4am at home when I first got contractions), but if I had my time again I'd have queried it and probably refused it.

Anyone else had this or know what it was?

[M2T]

mental note - ZsaZsa had a 12 hour labour then a CS. Must investigate

[ZsaZsa]

You need to do what ever you feel like doing in labour, so take some food in case you feel like it!
I puked on the way into a caesarian after a 12 hour labour - if it happens at that point, you will probably have the mindset "so what!"

[mears]

There are lots of different policies regarding eating in labour. As wickedwaterwitch's copying of Marjory Tew's book says there is really no evidence for the starving of women. In our unit the midwifery women can eat, the ones under the care of the doctor cannot. Hopefully that will change, but the reasoning is that there may be more likely to need an anaesthetic because they have complications in labour. I am not convinced myself. I have all women in labour have different needs regarding eating. Some want to, some don't. I do not think they should be restricted.

[elliott]

I didn't have time or inclination to eat the sandwiches I'd made for labour, but I sure was glad to have them in the middle of the night afterwards!!

[Pimpernel]

I had dd at home, so dp kept running down to the kitchen to make banana smoothies for me - minimal effort needed to 'eat' them. I also found satsumas very refreshing. I tried a slice of toast, but didn't find it appealing at the time.

[milch]

I was advised by all my mwives, GPs, obs, 'Eat as much as you like, when you like. Your body will tell you when and what. If you're the type who's going to throw up during labour, then eating or fasting won't make any difference (other than it being very unpleasant to try to vomit on an empty stomach).' With one labour I couldn't bear food, with the other I couldn't stop stuffing my face. But with both I was absolutely overwhelmingly ravenous for at least 48 hours afterwards. Make sure you've got something carbohydraty in your labour bag for afterwards. Good luck

[wobblymum]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I'll take loads of squash and fruit juice and a few snacks and just see how it goes. I bought a big pack of mini boxes of raisins because I thought they'd be good for energy and useful afterwards!!!!

Probably just get into labour, not feel like eating anything and then wonder why I spent so much time thinking about it!!!!!

[wobblymum]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I'll take loads of squash and fruit juice and a few snacks and just see how it goes. I bought a big pack of mini boxes of raisins because I thought they'd be good for energy and useful afterwards!!!!

Probably just get into labour, not feel like eating anything and then wonder why I spent so much time thinking about it!!!!!

[bubbly]

I didnt puke quite the opposite as I tried the home remedy of castor oil to try and kick start an overdue baby. Midwife was suitably unimpressed.Luckily it cleared the system before I had to push otherwise it doesnt bear thinking about.

[WideWebWitch]

BTW, I typed out most of the passage so it made sense, but it clearly isn't standard practice to withhold food any more. Yuk to all the puking stories here, I too puked a whole carton of Ribena seconds after drinking it. Nice.

[WideWebWitch]

Wobblymum, I don't think you'll feel like eating too much, but I ate small snacks while I was in labour at the beginning and I think you'll be fine.

I've just been reading Safer Childbirth? By Marjorie Tew (thanks for recommending it mears) and she says

"Precautionary Starvation.
Obstetricians have been increasingly disposed to deal with unforeseen complications by carrying out operative deliveries for which general anaethethsia may be required. Maternal death may occur if an anaesthetised woman vomits and inhales the contents of her stomach. To guard against this danger, obstetricians have made it standard practice in recent years to withhold (or drastically ration) food and drink for all labouring women, although in 1988-9 only a small minority of them were delivered by an unplanned caesarian section and despite the more frequent use of regional anaesthesia. For a woman whose labour lasts longer than her normal fasting time between meals this is a weakening deprivation at a time when when considerable physical and emotional exertions are being demanded of her body. The longer her starvation the more likely it is to upset the woman's normal blood chemistry and reduce the efficiency of her muscles...Deprivation of nourishment and refreshment may well aggravate the complications which then have to be treated by operative delivery. Likewise, it probably weakens the foetus and contributes to the diagnosed distress which triggers the intervention. And so a vicious circle is set up. Avoiding one danger which could affect a small minority is achieved by courting other dangers which affect a large majority. No study has yet confirmed that the advantage of pursuing the former objective outweighs the disadvantages of suffering the consequences."

So your instinct that you may need to eat to keep your strength makes sense. I expect mears or leese or pupuce can add more but to my knowledge, women aren't stopped from eating during labour any more. HTH.

[HZL]

I packed a veritable feast to take into hospital for my labour - sandwiches, bananas, dried fruit, glucose tablets, sports drinks, home-made flapjack - and ate precisely none of it. I felt vaguely nauseous with each contraction, and the only thing I could tolerate was watered down sports drink, sipped out of one of those water sports bottles. And this was only because dh insisted. I didn't have any pain relief to make me nauseous either (until they called a halt to three hours of non-productive pushing and wheeled me into theatre for a spinal block and ventouse). If you want to eat and can tolerate it, then go for it - I think its encouraged these days - otherwise just make sure you're well hydrated. Labour wards can be hot places.

[doormat]

I only ate in labour once and that was enough. I vomitted everywhere. Yuck.