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Food and Beverages in Labor. Part II: The Effects of Cessation of Oral Intake During Labor
Author(s) -
Broach Jeannine,
Newton Niles
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
birth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.233
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1523-536X
pISSN - 0730-7659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-536x.1988.tb00813.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gastric emptying , scope (computer science) , preterm labor , environmental health , pregnancy , stomach , gestation , biology , computer science , gastroenterology , genetics , programming language
Since the 1940s women have been prohibited from eating and drinking during labor because of the danger of aspirating stomach contents should general anesthesia be necessary. This is a critical review of the research on which prohibiting oral intake during labor has been based and includes studies demonstrating delay of gastric emptying in pregnant and laboring women. Problems in defining the scope of maternal mortality from aspiration during anesthesia are discussed, as well as other effects of prohibiting women from eating and drinking during labor. These include physiologic effects from short‐term deprivation of oral intake which has been largely overlooked in the literature and requires further investigation. Psychologic effects have been neglected altogether and should also be examined.