Abstract
Eating and drinking in labor is a controversial subject with practice varying widely
by practitioners, within facilities, and around the world. The risk of aspiration
pneumonitis and anesthesia-related deaths at cesarean section has resulted in adherence
to historical practices of starving women in labor. Studies have shown that the risk
of this anesthetic-related complication is low. It is the fear of the birth-attendant
to bear full responsibility if a patient inhales gastric contents when giving in to
demands for liberal fluid and food regimes during labor that governs practice. While
the bulk of evidence supports fluid intake in labor, there are insufficient published
studies to draw conclusions about the relationship between fasting times and the risk
of pulmonary aspiration during labor. Whether or not allowing food and fluid throughout
labor is beneficial or harmful can only be determined by further research. A computerized
search was done of MEDLINE, PUBMED, SCOPUS and CINAHL, as well of historical articles,
texts, articles from indexed journals, and references cited in published works.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 06, 2009
Accepted:
April 13,
2009
Received in revised form:
March 26,
2009
Received:
September 10,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
