What Should You Eat While In Labor
Fat delays digestion. Solids must be broken down into tiny bits to pass into the intestines. High concentrations of sugar and acid and either low or high concentrations of salt also slow digestion. Heavily sweetened drinks can also cause nausea and acid in the stomach, which, as we have seen, should be avoided. Icy liquids empty more slowly as well. Given these criteria, choose food and drinks that you know you tolerate well, the kind you would consume if you were recovering from the stomach flu. Examples might be soft, nonacid fruits; nonfat yogurt; cooked cereal; eggs; graham crackers; toast and jam; puddings; custard; fruit smoothies made with nonacid fruits; sweetened, non-caffeinated teas; nonfat milk; or non-creamy soup with noodles or rice. Eat or drink small quantities frequently rather than large quantities infrequently. One midwife recommends carbohydrates early in labor, moving to at least four ounces of calorie- and electrolyte-containing fluids per hour in late labor. If you vomit, cut back to sips of clear, nonacid liquids.
Ways To Minimize The Chance Of Aspiration
Note that when doctors abide by these recommendations, the problem of aspiration disappears whether you eat or drink or not.
Doctors should:
- Do fewer cesareans. Fewer cesareans means fewer opportunities for anesthesia complications.
- Preform cesareans using epidural or spinal (regional) anesthesia. This has become the norm in most hospitals, but it wouldn't hurt to ask if this is the case at yours. Aspiration can't happen when you are conscious.
- Ensure that anesthesiologists use proper techniques.
- Avoid IV-fluid overload. The excess fluid causes tissue swelling and makes it hard to intubate for general anesthesia.
You should:
- Maintain some for of oral intake. The most dangerous form of aspiration is aspiration of undiluted stomach acid because it chemically burns the airways. Presurgical antacid treatment is not completely preventative.
- If you are having a narcotic, including a narcotic epidural, limit oral intake to small, frequent amounts of clear, nonacid, moderately sweetened or salted liquids. Narcotics cause nausea and vomiting as well as relax the esophageal sphincter.
If there is a high probability that general anesthesia may be needed, you should:
- Limit oral intake to small, frequent amounts of clear, nonacid, moderately sweetened or salted liquids.
- Avoid narcotics.