Pregnancy Weight Gain & Diet: Women In Labor May Benefit From Eating Light Meals [Study]

Doctors often advise women going on labor to refrain from eating and drinking anything other than ice chips. But that may soon change based on a new study that suggests it is actually alright for pregnant women to have light meals and drinks hours before delivery.

According to the research presented during the 2015 annual American Society of Anesthesiology meeting in San Diego, the age-old belief that it's not right for pregnant women to have meals while in labor may already be scrapped. Back in the day, there were fears that a mom may aspirate as food and drinks could get into their lungs during labor. However, advancements in anesthesia care has changed all that today.

"Our findings suggest a change in practice makes sense," said Christopher Harty via Health Day. Harty is one of the authors of the research, which was published in the Anesthesiology journal.

According to She Knows, the previous recommendation was first presented in the 1940s, but since 2005 up to 2013, only one case of aspiration was recorded in the United States. The pregnant woman involved was already having a high-risk pregnancy at that, so other factors have come into play for her condition. Thus, for other moms who are healthier and deemed low-risk, abstaining food and water is already outdated. Researchers went over 385 studies that were published since 1990 to come up with their conclusions.

Labor in itself is already straining for would-be mothers and to do this on an empty stomach is even harder, with the experts saying that the caloric demands of giving birth is similar to the caloric demands of marathon participants.

"Physician anesthesiologists and obstetricians should work together to assess each patient individually. Those they determine are at low risk for aspiration can likely eat a light meal during labor. This gives expectant mothers more choices in their birthing experience and prevents them from being calorie deficient, helping to provide energy during labor," added Harty in a press release via News Wise.

Other experts sounded off their agreement to the recommendation, but emphasized the need for determining who are "low risk" patients. Both the anesthesiologist and obstetricians should be able to work together and "exercise good judgment to assess each patient individually for having a light or liquid meal during labor," said obstetrician Dr. Anthony Vintzileos via Health Day.

"Once a patient is correctly identified as low risk, she should at minimum be allowed to have a clear liquid diet, especially given the advances in anesthesia and the results from recent studies," said another obstetrician, Dr. Francine Hippolyte.