Evidence Questions Restrictions of Food and Fluids in Labor

The Clinical Bulletin from the American College of Nurse Midwives released May 19, 2008, states that, "Drinking and eating during labor can provide women with the energy they need and should not be routinely restricted."

The OBGYN News article, Light Eating During Labor Won't Raise Complication Risk, discusses the need to reevaluate hospital policies made in the 1940s that don't correspond with the needs of laboring women.

Women who are allowed to eat and drink during labor have an overall greater satisfaction with the experience of childbirth.

Lamaze, Care Practice #4, also states that, "Recent research shows that eating and drinking are safe in normal labor."