Five years ago, when Elizabeth Gulledge was in labour with her first son, Alex, her doctor told her to go for a walk and have some lunch after she was induced. That surprised her. ?You?re programmed to believe you shouldn?t eat anything in case you need an emergency C-section,? she says. She ended up grabbing a sandwich from Subway and was glad she did, since her labour lasted eight hours.
But when she went into labour with Max and, most recently, Hank, she was too nervous to eat. ?Nobody ever said anything to me about food, but the last thing I wanted to do was eat,? she says. And yet, some women do want to eat during labour and, depending on where they deliver, often get conflicting advice about what they can and can?t have. In many delivery rooms, women are permitted only ice chips or small amounts of clear fluids. ?I was just given water and told to take little sips,? says Gulledge, who was in labour for about five hours with her second and third sons. ?I don?t know what would have happened if I?d had longer labours?it makes sense that you have to fuel your body.? Labour is work, agrees Sharon Dore, a registered nurse and associate clinical professor at McMaster University. ?Any other time you?re doing work, you can?t just not eat. You need something to keep you going.?
According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), ?In the very early stages of labour, eating and drinking small amounts prevents you from getting dehydrated and helps you ke...