Hot Topic: Eating Food In Labor

Aug 25

Kaely Harrod 00:04
Welcome to doula Tips and Tits. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaely Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born 12 nearly 13 years ago. I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, La Leche League Leader, and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business, it is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Point of View series continued. This is episode number three of this lovely series. And it is about food. So one question that I get in every single childbirth class is, is it dangerous to eat while you're in labor? Should you avoid eating while you're in labor? What are kind of the rules around eating and labor. So I want to dive into this a little bit because I think we have a really big misconception around the need to not eat while you're in labor, when actually food is incredibly beneficial. So I'm going to give a couple of different layers of context. So the first is that many, many years ago, the recommendation was for all pregnant people who are in labor to fast or just have like water and ice chips. That recommendation was initially made by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. And the risk that was kind of associated with that policy was aspiration if a C section needed to happen. In 2015, that recommendation shifted. And it was that only high risk people should be on clear liquids. But actually low risk healthy pregnant people should be allowed to eat a small meal as needed, because the benefit of having that fuel and having that energy outweighed the very incredibly miniscule risk of aspiration. So that's kind of the hospital policy side, right? Like, that's where that policy sort of was born. It has never been a thing, just in life, that people who are in labor need to not eat right, your body can still handle eating. Now, oftentimes, there's nausea and labor, so not everyone wants to eat. And sometimes eating like a full meal doesn't even sound appealing. So I wouldn't say I have very many clients who want to like have dinner while they are in labor, right. But certainly, like, eat a few nuts have some bites of fruit, like drink some water, have a drink, yeah, water, but also, like I was thinking watermelon, not water, my brain went a different direction, eat some watermelon, like eat some yogurt have some things out are substantial, but also like fairly easy to consume and to digest. Right? Now, the actual recommendation around eating clear liquids is more important when someone is on medication, like an epidural, where they can't get up, move around, go to the bathroom, they're way more stationary than they otherwise would be in the process of labor. And so that's a time when the recommendation makes a little bit more sense, right. And oftentimes, there are even policies in hospitals where that's the only time that you actually have that restriction. However, still, the chance of a C section is fairly low, and even lower is the chance of aspiration and a C section. So while it's there, it's a very, very, very low chance. Now, one thing that I make sure to always mention to clients is that they should ask their provider, how they manage this, because in the DC area where I'm based, I know providers who will say to you, if I'm not in the room, I don't know if you're eating, so just eat while I'm not in here, right. And I know providers who will say to you like, like, I don't care what the policy says, just eat whatever you want, whenever you want to, you have my permission, right. And I know other providers who literally act like everyone who eats in labor is going to die. And there's that broad of a range, right? And so, I like to suggest starting out by hearing what your providers usual protocol is so that you have some framework for that. The next thing I want you to consider when someone's kind of thinking through if they want to follow this policy, if they're giving birth in a hospital and want to try eating or not, etc. is how stressed out you get with rule breaking because in the midst of labor, you need the oxytocin hormone nice and high and If you're going into a scenario where you know, your provider wants you to be on clear liquids, but you're sort of like, it's not super evidence based, I think I might eat something, then if you get stressed out about the fact that you're breaking a rule, that stress is incredibly detrimental to labor. So that does not really warrant that sort of rule breaking in that scenario, because that's really like detrimental to the process. Right. Now, on the flip side, if you're giving birth out of hospital, there are no restrictions on what you eat or drink in almost any scenario. The only time that they would be recommending something specific is like to give you some energy or to like reanimate labor, if it's kind of slowed down a little bit like there's really there might give me recommendations of what things are helpful. But they're not going to say only certain things are allowed in most cases. So that's what I mean when I say like labor is not inherently a thing that has to be fasted with. And so that's sort of a conception that we have, because a lot of people give birth in a hospital, especially in the US. And so we have this thought that like labor is something that you fast when you do it, but that's actually not the case. And it doesn't have to be the case. And many providers don't make that rule for folks. So so that's the food one, the food and labor one. We have a few more of these coming, and so stay tuned for those. In the meantime, please do connect with me on Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts. And I would really, really appreciate you leaving a quick review of this podcast as well. All right, see you in the next one. Thanks for joining us for this episode of the doula Tips and Tips podcast. If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share that on Instagram and tag us at Herat doula, so we can celebrate alongside you. If you found this podcast helpful. We would so appreciate you taking a second to leave a rating and a review on your favorite podcast app that helps other doulas find us as we do this work together. This podcast is intended as educational and entertainment it is not medical advice or business advice. Please consult your own medical or legal team for your own needs around your health and your business. We'll see you again soon.

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As doulas we need to know how to navigate the line between education, up to date evidence, and policies of the local hospitals and birth centers. Especially when we’re teaching our clients about evidence-based practices like eating during labor that may not be the current policy at their birthing location. Today’s hot topic is eating during labor!

Quote from the show:

“One thing that I make sure to always mention to clients is that they should ask their provider, how they manage this, because in the DC area where I'm based, I know providers who will say to you, if I'm not in the room, I don't know if you're eating, so just eat while I'm not in here, right. And I know providers who will say to you like, like, I don't care what the policy says, just eat whatever you want, whenever you want to, you have my permission, right. And I know other providers who literally act like everyone who eats in labor is going to die. And there's that broad of a range, right? And so, I like to suggest starting out by hearing what your providers usual protocol is so that you have some framework for that. The next thing I want you to consider when someone's kind of thinking through if they want to follow this policy, if they're giving birth in a hospital and want to try eating or not, etc. is how stressed out you get with rule breaking because in the midst of labor, you need the oxytocin hormone nice and high and If you're going into a scenario where you know, your provider wants you to be on clear liquids, but you're sort of like, it's not super evidence based, ”

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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services

It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class

Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay