Trust your instincts-as a doula and childbirth educator I find myself advising my clients to listen to their gut often. In fact, had I not heeded that advice myself eight months ago my son may have been born without our midwife present. Laboring women however are not always “allowed” to follow their instincts especially when it comes to eating and drinking in labor. Its funny-you wouldn’t dream of advising an athlete against hydration or obtaining a little extra energy through food (it has been said that giving birth is like running a marathon). But in hospitals worldwide women are told they cannot eat or drink once they are admitted. Some hospitals allow a clear, liquid diet and others don’t allow laboring women anything other than ice chips-no matter how long their labor!
This practice is decades old and was implemented to prevent Mendelson’s syndrome which can occur (rare-but fatal) if a patient undergoes general anesthesia. The fear is that if a woman has eaten or drank anything the contents of her stomach could be drawn into her lungs while she is under. The message here is that every woman in labor is at risk for a cesarean section. It’s not just a cesarean that is the driving force (for which an epidural/regional anesthesia would be used) but an emergency cesarean where time is a factor. Instinctually it would seem women are missing out on the benefits of fluids and food in labor for a lot of what ifs!
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