Good news for hungry, pregnant women everywhere: new recommendations are evolving that may just change the tradition of “ice chips only” for women in labor.

Many women may not be interested in food during labor. However, I do know some women who were in the hospital for many, many hours and were very hungry during the process of giving birth. Traditionally, women in labor are denied anything but ice chips, so most women have to tough it out until after the baby is born.

Standard hospital policy for many decades has been to allow only tiny sips of water or ice chips for pregnant women in labor if they were thirsty. Why? It was feared, and some studies in the 1940s showed, that if a woman needed to undergo general anesthesia for a cesarean delivery, she might inhale regurgitated liquids or food particles that could lead to pneumonia and other lung damage.

But, the article goes on to mention that anesthesia practices have gotten better since this time, and it is generally considered much safer.

The research on the topic is discussed here:

Singata and colleagues systematically reviewed five studies involving more than 3,100 pregnant that looked at the evidence for restricting food and drink in women who were considered unlikely to need anesthesia. One study looked at complete restriction versus giving women the freedom to eat and drink at will; two studies looked at water only versus giving women specific fluids and foods and two studies looked at water only versus giving women carbohydrate drinks.

The evidence showed no benefits or harms of restricting foods and fluids during labor in women at low risk of needing anesthesia.

So, some OBs are now relaxing the “ice chip only” rule and allowing patients who are low-risk for anesthesia to eat what they want during labor. If you’re pregnant and are low-risk, talk to your OB about this. You never know how long your labor might take and you might need some cafeteria food to keep your strength up.

I was on the “ice chip only” program for my labors. As soon as my first daughter was born, I sent my hubby across the street to Wendy’s. It was possibly the best hamburger I’ve had in my life. Thinking back, I might have been too nervous to eat until after the birth. But, maybe not. Mmmmmm, french fries….

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duncan @ five minutes

By Dean Cameron

This past August 1, 2009 at 10:45am, my son, Duncan Huxley Cameron was born.

Not only is he quite a bit bigger now than he is in that photo, his ability to melt me with a look, has increased.

We are raising him as rationally as possible. Obviously, he’ll make his own decisions about how to interact with his world, but we’ll tell the truth as we see it and let it go. There’s plenty of woo out there for him to encounter and deal with on his own, so we don’t need to burden him with more at home. It’s going to be intersting as, even before he was born, people I consider rational were saying really weird and irrational things.

» Continue reading “Guest Dad Post – HAVIN’ MY BABAY”

I’m at 33 weeks pregnant and am in the middle of the maternity class gauntlet. Jodi’s earlier post about Birthing Classes inspired me write up some of my experiences. 

Lamaze Class at A Local Hospital 

My husband and I signed up for a four week Lamaze class taught through a local hospital. We barely made it through the first class and never went back. Our problem was really with the teacher and not the class, but oh what a big problem it was! 

Right off the bat, the instructor had an unfortunate voice. Loud, nasal… annoying. My willingness to ignore the voice and concentrate on the message may have been a mistake. It turns out that when a screechy harpy voice is mixed with condescension, unsubstantiated claims, anti-doctor paranoia and anti-vaccination messages, the voice quickly becomes intolerable.  » Continue reading “Birthing and Parenting Classes – My Experiences So Far”

The choice to do a natural childbirth vs. a birth with pain medication is always hotly debated. And, each side is sure their opinion is correct. Well, a noteworthy study has just been announced that will likely spark further conversation. A recent Swedish study concluded that natural childbirth classes didn’t offer any advantage to expecting parents. » Continue reading “Study on Natural Childbirth Classes”

Kari from Mythbusters debunks a few popular (and one just weird) pregnancy myth.

I love a quick, informative slideshow and this one doesn’t disappoint. Scientific American investigates the science behind some of the common pregnancy myths and wives’ tales. For example, is heartburn a sign that your baby will have hair? Do overweight mothers give birth to overweight babies? Do pregnant women eat more when having a boy?

(Answers: Most likely, yes, and yes. But there’s more so follow the link!)

Part One: Acupuncture & Wheatgrass

It happened again recently that I ran into an acquaintance who was doing acupuncture to help fertility. This happens all the time in LA, really, where many people believe in acupuncture, and where many, many women (at least in my circle) have put off having children until their late 30s or early 40s. I admit that I tried acupuncture myself, at a time when I was diagnosed with serious fertility problems. I spent a couple hundred dollars on sessions with needles and some pills with herbs. I never did take the pills, because I started some actual, medical fertility treatments and didn’t want to combine the medicine I was taking with an unknown element. And then, I decided the acupuncture was silly, so I stopped going.

My travails with infertility pretty much sealed the deal on my becoming a skeptic (or you could say a critical thinker, rational mom, or what have you), because I was embittered by my encounter with alternative medicine and supplements. » Continue reading “How Infertility Made Me a Skeptic”

Elyse over at Skepchick has posted this excellent article that is a wonderfully soothing, reassuring, uplifting and funny letter to all mothers-to-be on how to be rational, relax, enjoy your pregnancy, and not listen to bonehead advice. She tells some refreshing truths that you might not find in your typical “pregnancy is a miracle” book.

Favorite quote:

You may hate being pregnant. Even if you feel great physically. You may not bond with your baby. You may not feel overjoyed and amazed whenever your baby kicks. You may find it annoying. You may feel gross having a person inside you. This is not a sign that you will be a terrible mother. Once your baby is here, you will love it.

If you are, or a lady you love is, currently building a human, check it out!

I’m almost 34 weeks pregnant right now. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was talking with a friend who believes she’s had out-of-body experiences (OBEs), that an afterlife exists, and that this is her final incarnation on this planet, in this form. As skeptical as I am, I always ended up listening to her stories with great interest, simply out of curiosity and a dose of romanticism.

So when I informed her of my pregnancy, she was delighted to explain to me how souls and other pregnancy-related phenomena work in or are affected by the “spiritual realm.” She told me she witnessed first-hand the process of choosing a soul for an ever-growing embryo/fetus, or, I should say, for the soul choosing the embryo/fetus.

Apparently, it goes something like this:

» Continue reading “Why I Fall for Romanticism”

I’m in my third trimester. I have an obsession with the divine combination of chocolate and peanut butter, no ankles, and breasts that would make the ladies in National Geographic envious.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was elated. My husband and I tried for about 6 months before the baby-making miracle finally occurred. However, looking down at the double pink lines was not as joyous as I had envisioned. I was actually somewhat nervous.

No. I was really nervous.

I grew up in Pennsylvania in a very—and I mean very—Catholic family. I was raised Catholic, baptized Catholic, received all the sacraments, went to Catholic school, attended CCD classes, and I attended church every week—twice—until I was 18.

I moved to South Carolina about 2 and a half years ago to further my career. I now live on the Buckle of the Bible Belt in Upstate SC, home to the most churches and dive bars in the tri-state area.

Oh, and I’m an atheist. So’s my husband.

» Continue reading “Pregnant on the Buckle of the Bible Belt”