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WTF that's inhumane!!!
I just saw an article on the news that stunned me. It's something that never occurred to me. Apparently you're not allowed to eat during labour. WTF??? I've heard of women being in labour for ridiculous numbers of hours up in the double-digits. And I don't imagine you spend a whole lot of that time asleep. It's not enough to be cooped up in a hospital in a lot of pain but you have to fast too???
Apparently it's not to keep the room sterile or anything involving the baby. The doctor interviewed in the news bit said it causes a risk of stomach acids rising up the esophagus and causing pneumonia. The reason this issue was in the news is that a recent study has found that there is no increased risk poor outcomes for the mother or baby and no increased risk of emergency c-sections as a result of eating, though it didn't directly address the pneumonia issue the doctor on the news piece was talking about. When presented with the study results he laughed and said "well, I'm not going to encourage someone chowing down on a cheeseburger while in labour". I don't think any medical professional should encourage chowing a cheeseburger under any circumstances. But surely a popsicle or a handful of crackers would be harmless and be enough to take the edge off the hunger. I can understand not wanting to eat because you're in pain, but I'm not sure I can agree with someone telling me I can't eat if I feel up to it and I'm hungry.
To the mothers in the audience... did you eat during labour? Did you want to?
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52O56K20090325
Apparently it's not to keep the room sterile or anything involving the baby. The doctor interviewed in the news bit said it causes a risk of stomach acids rising up the esophagus and causing pneumonia. The reason this issue was in the news is that a recent study has found that there is no increased risk poor outcomes for the mother or baby and no increased risk of emergency c-sections as a result of eating, though it didn't directly address the pneumonia issue the doctor on the news piece was talking about. When presented with the study results he laughed and said "well, I'm not going to encourage someone chowing down on a cheeseburger while in labour". I don't think any medical professional should encourage chowing a cheeseburger under any circumstances. But surely a popsicle or a handful of crackers would be harmless and be enough to take the edge off the hunger. I can understand not wanting to eat because you're in pain, but I'm not sure I can agree with someone telling me I can't eat if I feel up to it and I'm hungry.
To the mothers in the audience... did you eat during labour? Did you want to?
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52O56K20090325