For years women laboring in a hospital setting have been told that it is dangerous to eat and drink during labor. There have been fears that a woman could aspirate the food into her lungs after receiving general anesthesia during childbirth. Unfortunately, the lack of food makes women become tired during long labors. This can lead to an increase in interventions and c-sections.
However, women rarely receive general anesthesia during their labors anymore. The advances in anesthesia practices have made vomiting a rare occurrence, reducing the risk that food once was. Many doctors are beginning to relax their stances on food and drink for laboring women. A new review of laboring women has found no evidence of risks for laboring women who eat. High-risk obstetrician Jeffrey Ecker, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital told WebMD:
We are, as we speak, in the process of re-evaluating our practice, as I believe other hospitals are.
Women who have chosen out of hospital births have known for years how important it is to stay energized while laboring. Many midwives encourage a woman to eat and drink as she needs to during labor. This new research is another step towards changing what many saw as outdated and harmful hospital practices.
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