Eating during childbirth is safe for health

• April 25, 2024

Eat allows to recover the forces between a contraction and another; however, in many hospitals, eating or drinking during labor is not allowed. Many moms wonder if they can eat something, even if it's sucking a candy palette or drinking juices, to recover strength and quench thirst or dry mouth.

What does the World Health Organization say?

In the 90's, the experts of the WHO (World Health Organization) studied the issue of feeding during labor with low risk of complications, and the conclusions were published in the report "Care in normal birth: a practical guide", in the year 1996.

"Labor of labor involves the expenditure of a huge amount of Energy . Given that the duration of dilation and delivery is not foreseeable a priori, it is necessary to assure the parturient an adequate supply of energy, in order to ensure their well-being and that of their child. The absolute prohibition of eating and drinking can lead to dehydration and to a situation of ketosis (a metabolic situation of the organism caused by a deficit in the supply of carbohydrates) ".

"In hospitals, it is a common practice to remedy this situation through the administration of Water Y glucose intravenously The use of serum as a routine intervention during dilation is not recommended, as it reduces the woman's mobility and interferes with the natural development of childbirth. It is preferable to offer liquids and light foods. "

In conclusion: if you can eat during labor.

What is recommended?

• When you start labor: do not skip the foods
• Eat foods that do not fall heavy and that they keep you energized, for example: fruits, vegetables, meat or roast chicken, consommé, vegetable soup, rice, bread, cereals or cookies, seeds (like nuts, almonds, granola, etc). Drink plenty of fluids, water, juices, jellies, popsicles
• Stay at home as long as possible, and Eat well before leaving for the hospital
• Go to the hospital when your labor is well established and have 3 contractions every 10 minutes for 2 or 3 hours
• You will have to agree with your doctor about it, and if you do not agree with what WHO recommends it is always possible to ask for another opinion

What if you have to perform a cesarean section?

The custom of prohibiting the consumption of water and food during dilation goes back to the forty years , when the epidural anesthesia did not exist and, in the case of cesarean, always gave birth to general anesthesia (facing a surgical intervention with a full stomach and with this type of anesthesia is dangerous ).

Currently, in most cases, the cesarean is performed with epidural anesthesia, and the use of general anesthesia is rare, even when it is an unscheduled intervention.

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