Why is food and fluid so important to the birthing woman? A simple enough question. One that is rarely addressed in childbirth classes. And even if it is, it will all come down to what is allowed in hospital. So exactly what does food and fluid do to make birth better?

Imagine that you are working very hard, whether exercising, yard work, physical labor, now think that you have been doing this all day without a break and with nothing to eat or drink except for a few chips of ice to wet your mouth. How do you think you would feel?

A laboring woman is doing some mighty hard work. The uterus, at term, is the largest muscle in your body and it has been contracting regularly for hours. Imagine what happens when this muscle, that is working so hard, is lacking the necessary energy to work efficiently. It keeps working, but not effectively. It does not have the strength to open the cervix and push your baby out. This can lead to a longer more painful labor (can you say "failure to progress?").

Fluids help keep things moving in our bodies, the average human fails to have adequate water on board to ensure their body works optimally. In labor, fluids are usually restricted to ice chips. If body fluids are low, then the blood has a harder time transporting wastes out of the cells due to its sluggishness. This includes the lactic acid that builds up in the cells of the uterus during contractions. The feeling you get after working out for the first time in a long time, that stiff and sore muscle feeling, that is caused by lactic acid in your muscles, well the uterus feels that too). The *burn* in "feel the burn" relates to Lactic acid accumulation in a muscle).

Birth has been made out to be a surgical tragedy waiting to happen. Food and fluids are restricted on the off chance you may need surgery. Unfortunately the withholding of food and fluid may be the cause of many a long labor that failed to progress, and ended as a surgical birth. Restriction of food and fluid is a common practice in most hospitals in North America.

A woman's body will tell her what she needs. Eating in early labor will ensure there is energy on board to endure the labor. How many athletes will "carb up" prior to an endurance event? On the whole a woman will get to a point in her labor where food is not the first thing on her mind. Drinking to thirst throughout labor will ensure optimal removal of waste build up in the uterine muscle. Birth support persons should be there to remind her to drink as well when the mother is far advanced into labor land. Staying home until the mother no longer desires solid foods is best, as then she will be far enough in labor that restriction of food will not be a concern. (Extra tip: if you can laugh between contractions you are not yet in serious labor! STAY HOME!)

Starving the birthing woman is a fear based practice that has no research based evidence to back it up. It is an archaic policy that has just not been brought up to date in a majority of hospitals. So if you are in labor and are refused food or fluids as desired, your best interests are not being taken into account.

(The only time I would suggest that food and fluid be restricted is if a woman takes an epidural, as the chance of emergency cesarean increases and therefore the need to be prepped for surgery. This doesn't mean totally avoiding food, but possibly restricting the intake to just clear fluids.)

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