[IMG]http://simplefeed.consumerreports.org/rsrc/i/1/_/study_challenges_ban_on_snacking_during_labor__924 815161/4.gif?f=3dcb3160-01dc-11dc-32a2-0019bbc55f7f&s=AewyNia7NTvDvhaDemju5DEsbnVsbCwwLDA *[/IMG] Study challenges ban on snacking during labor
They don't call it labor for nothing. Delivering a baby can be exhausting work, lasting 10, 20 or more hours for some women. So how can moms-to-be keep up their strength? How about a fortifying snack of... ice chips?
After eating-for-two throughout pregnancy, women are often advised not to eat at all during labor. The taboo on eating dates back to the 1940s, when a doctor first described cases of women breathing semi-digested food into their lungs (called pulmonary aspiration) when they had a general anesthetic for a cesarean section. But general anesthetics are rarely used for deliveries nowadays, as most women are awake but comfortably numb during C-sections with the help of an epidural. And when a general anesthetic is required, techniques are much safer today than they were back then.
As a result, attitudes toward eating during labor have relaxed in some countries. In the Netherlands, for example, around 80 percent of doctors and midwives now allow laboring women to snack. In the United States, however, the ban on food persists in most delivery rooms, even for women who have a low risk of needing surgery. In fact, guidelines from the American Society of Anesthesiologists* state that solid food should be avoided during labor, as eating "increases maternal complications." The guidelines don't specify which complications, but a couple of small studies have found that women who eat during labor may have longer deliveries and may be more likely to need C-sections. On the other hand, reports from some doctors and midwives suggest that fasting can actually slow labor, and may be hard on the mother and her baby, although no studies have confirmed this.
So does food help or hinder labor? Neither, according to a new, large study, which found that women's deliveries were remarkably similar whether they snacked or fasted.

The study involved more than 2,400 healthy women in England who were having their first baby. They were randomly split into two groups. In one, women were advised to consume only water and ice chips during labor. In the other, women were encouraged to eat small, regular amounts of food, such as bread, cookies, fruits, low-fat yogurt and fruit juice.
Researchers found little difference between the groups in:
  • How long labor lasted
  • How often the women vomited
  • Whether they needed C-sections
  • Whether their deliveries were assisted with forceps or a vacuum.
There were also no differences in the babies' overall condition at birth or their chance of being admitted to a special care unit.
These findings suggests that the fast-or-snack question is perhaps best left to the mom-to-be at the time of labor, assuming she is healthy and expected to have a normal delivery.
However, one thing the study can't tell us is whether eating during labor affects a woman's risk of pulmonary aspiration, should she need a general anesthetic. Pulmonary aspiration is extremely rare during birth, so a very large, long-term study would need to be done to gather enough data. This isn't likely to happen. The researchers suggest that perhaps the best evidence for the safety of eating during labor comes from the lack of deaths from aspiration in countries where snacking has become more common.
What you need to know. Attitudes toward eating during labor do appear to be slowly changing in the United States, the researchers say. Indeed, you may find that your doctor or midwife isn't opposed to light dining on easy-to-digest foods, such as crackers and low-fat yogurt. But make sure you get their OK before you pack your birth bag with assorted treats. After all, you want to be able to have your rice cake and eat it, too.
?Sophie Ramsey, patient editor, BMJ Group

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