Modern medicine has somewhat changed its mind about whether it is possible to eat after the onset of contractions. But there is still no consensus.

Is food allowed during childbirth?

If you ask your mothers, they will most likely answer that they were forbidden to eat after the start of labor.

This approach in the old days was justified by the fact that the intestines should be empty during childbirth. A crowded intestine not only complicates the passage of the baby through the birth canal, but also threatens with involuntary defecation while the expectant mother is pushing. This is bad not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also not good for the baby.

In addition, it was forbidden to eat in case you need to do a caesarean section, which was previously performed under general anesthesia. Now they resort to epidural anesthesia - the introduction of special preparations into the epidural space of the spine. With such anesthesia, eating is not contraindicated.

Some modern experts are of the opinion that it is forbidden to eat during childbirth. But increasingly, doctors are lifting this ban.
The problem of a full bowel is solved by a prenatal enema, or the body, sensing the approach of childbirth, will force you to empty the bowels.

It is believed that at the very beginning of labor, a woman can have a little snack if she is really hungry. But often a woman in labor does not even experience hunger during the birth process, so the question disappears on its own.

Foods to eat early in labor

If you have just started contractions and you are really hungry, a light snack is allowed. Definitely forbidden during childbirth, eat fatty, fried, spicy, sweet.

Food should be max. light for digestion and assimilation: bread, yogurt, dried fruits, baked fruits, boiled egg, biscuits.

If you do not feel hunger, you should not worry that without food the body will not have enough energy during childbirth. Nature has thought of everything, and the body will provide itself with energy on its own.

As a rule, during childbirth, a woman does not want to eat. But this is an individual indicator.

Fluid intake during childbirth

During childbirth, the expectant mother may feel thirsty, and no one forbids you to quench her. But you need to drink quite a bit, literally wet your throat. Better take another sip after a while.

Of course, you can’t drink carbonated sweet drinks, coffee, strong tea during childbirth.

It is allowed to use herbal tea or decoction, clarified natural juice. But still it is better to quench your thirst with plain water.

There are different opinions about what you can eat before childbirth. All of them are quite contradictory. How to do the right thing? The most important thing is to listen to your needs and common sense. And if you want something "forbidden", then just do not forget about the measure. Each organism is individual, and even in childbirth, which are regulated by identical natural fluctuations in the hormonal background, a woman may experience dissimilar, individual food needs.

If you want, then eat to your health! In this case, it would be more correct to ask which foods can be eaten before childbirth, and which ones are better to refuse.

Nutrition before childbirth in a few weeks

It is reasonable to recommend switching to a plant-milk diet 3-4 weeks before childbirth. Yoghurts, fruits, cottage cheese, cereals, salads, soups allow you to get enough and at the same time not overload the intestines and pancreas. Starting at 36 weeks, a baby can be born at any time. Therefore, such a diet contributes to the normal course of the entire birth process, whenever it begins, and the preparation of the body for childbirth.

Why not sweet and savory? First, there are extra calories. Secondly, during the digestion of these products, fermentation processes predominate in the intestines, which contributes to gas formation. Plus, these same foods contribute to or aggravate constipation. You also need to consider the likelihood of the appearance or exacerbation of hemorrhoids.

What to pay attention to?

A fairly important product before childbirth is vegetable oil. This is a powerful protection against breaks in childbirth. Under its action, the elasticity of blood vessels and tissues of the birth canal increases. If you have gastronomic preferences in this matter, then you can use any: olive, sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, etc. Use oil for salad dressings, which is more comfortable, or drink one spoonful daily.

Should I eat during labor and labor?

The physiology of childbirth is such that in a hungry woman slows down, labor activity stops. The reason for this is the increase in the level of adrenaline. With the advent of contractions, if there is a desire, it makes sense to eat. If you don't want to eat, then don't.

The female body can independently replenish energy costs from its own reserves. Judging by the feelings of the majority of women in labor, there is no desire to eat during childbirth, and there is no time. This is especially true for fast (rapid) births. The food in them is irrelevant, inappropriate. But in protracted labor, it is advised to eat ... Chocolate.

Why do you need chocolate during childbirth?

Chocolate is used to induce labor. But definitely black (bitter). In some maternity hospitals, a bar of dark chocolate is on the list of obligatory things in the maternity hospital. It is believed that the substances contained in bitter chocolate have a stimulating effect on the cervix - it opens faster and lowers the pain threshold. Reduced sensitivity to pain is due to the content of serotonin, which stimulates the release of endorphins - hormones of "happiness". But you need to be careful - opening the neck is often accompanied by nausea and the urge to vomit.

The use of chocolate to induce labor has both positive and negative reviews. Therefore, it is up to you and the doctor to decide whether to eat chocolate before childbirth. Just get ready to take him to the hospital. And in childbirth, you decide for yourself whether you need it specifically or not. If you decide, then, most importantly, do not eat the whole tile at once. Choose the freshest and highest quality chocolate for childbirth, with the maximum cocoa butter content. White and milk tiles - do not have a pronounced stimulating effect on the cervix.

When using dark chocolate to stimulate childbirth, it is worth remembering its sensitizing effect - the ability to cause allergies. An allergen can affect not only the mother's body, but also the baby being born.

5 rules for eating before childbirth

• If you want to eat, do it. The presence of psychological discomfort caused by hunger prolongs labor. In the absence of appetite, you should not eat by force.

• Eat cooked food in small portions.

• The best foods before childbirth are a boiled egg, dried fruits, bread rolls, baked fruits, biscuits.

• Most likely, after eating the above foods, you will want to drink. Take water or pre-prepared herbal tea with you, tea in half-liter bottles with "sport" lids. As practice shows, it is more convenient to drink from them without spilling. It is a generally accepted fact that the best drink during childbirth is pure water. A large volume of liquid in the stomach stretches the walls and slows down digestion. Thus causing the urge to vomit. You need to drink in small portions.

• Make your own hot chocolate.

Eating before childbirth does not affect their duration and frequency of surgical interventions. Operative delivery - caesarean section - is possible after a meal. Previously, general anesthesia was used for anesthesia. This was the reason for the ban on food before childbirth. Nowadays, epidural anesthesia is widely used. Therefore, the food taken is not a hindrance to the operation.

There is an opinion that it is impossible to eat before childbirth in order to prevent involuntary defecation in the laborious period. For the same reason, an enema is recommended before childbirth. Physiologically, the body is conceived very wisely and at the beginning of labor, the intestines are emptied on their own. So this argument is not a reason to torture yourself with hunger in childbirth.

Conclusion

Eating before childbirth should not cause discomfort. Small portions of allowed foods will help you rejuvenate and cheer up. What you can eat before childbirth - you already know. For the rest, rely on your body, just listen to it.

At the time of the onset of childbirth, the expectant mother is covered by a lot of different emotions. These include meeting a new little man, and the onset of fear of the unknown, and a lot of all sorts of troubles. Childbirth is a huge stress, and what it will be depends on most different moments. It is important to know the elementary rules of behavior, they determine how you can get rid of many unpleasant moments. We should not forget that they can cause enormous harm to the health of the expectant mother and her baby.

In contact with

If all the waiting periods have ended, childbirth always begins unexpectedly. You should tune in to the necessary mood and maintain your composure in full. It's rather difficult, but possible.

For these reasons, there are some "don'ts" to keep in mind:

1. At the start don't panic, it is pointless to run around the living quarters, to do everything very quickly. It should be remembered that the duration of the first birth is up to 12 hours, the next ones are reduced to 8 hours. The expectant woman in labor has a long period of time left to calmly get ready, but the fees should not be delayed too much.

But still, one should not forget that there are exceptions: there are cases when the natural birth of twins took place 4 hours from the start of contractions.

1. You can not run around the apartment and try to collect the necessary things. In this case, the balance is disturbed, weakness occurs and the head begins to spin. Bags for the hospital should be prepared in advance.
2. It is forbidden to move inaccurately, abruptly which could lead to a fall. This can threaten the abruption of the placenta prematurely, which can lead to blood loss and even threaten the life of the little man and the mother herself.
3. Do not leave documents at home. Be sure to have a passport, exchange card, policy, if there is an agreement for childbirth. If doctors do not have documentary evidence of the full condition of the pregnant woman, she can be placed in a special institution where women who are suspected of having an infectious disease give birth.
4. Do not try to get to the hospital on your own(for example, in a private car). The feeling of pain, the discharge of water can provoke inattention on the road and this can lead to an emergency on the road. In case of contractions, a medical team should be called.

It is strictly forbidden to stay at home if:

1. The waters have receded.
2. When bleeding occurs.
3. If you experience pain in the head, blurred vision, pain in the uterus.
4. If the movement of the baby in the womb has become quite violent or weakened.

In the above cases, you should be in the hospital as soon as possible(ideally, call an ambulance with a medical team). A woman preparing to become a mother should take a lying position, sitting on her side.

Physiology of childbirth

Can I drink and eat during childbirth?

For a long time, doctors forbade women to eat and drink even during natural childbirth, fearing possible complications. If the birth lasted longer than ten hours, the maximum that a woman could count on was a sip of water or a piece of ice.

The reason for the establishment of such strict rules was the discovery in the forties of the 20th century of the reaction of the patient's digestive tract to general anesthesia, which was later called Mendelssohn's syndrome.

It is believed that in a woman in labor who ate and drank during childbirth or immediately before their onset, against the background of general anesthesia, pieces of food and acidic stomach contents can be thrown into the lungs. The entry of gastric contents into the trachea and bronchi is fraught with the development of pneumonia, serious damage to lung tissue, and in rare cases can even lead to death.

At present, when caesarean sections are in most cases performed under epidural anesthesia (only 3-7% of all caesarean sections abroad are done using general anesthesia), scientists believe that the ban on women eating and drinking during childbirth should be lifted.

Even the sudden need for the use of general anesthesia should not frighten the woman in labor. After all, the quality of anesthesia care and surgical techniques in most countries has seriously improved over the years, so the risk of negative consequences is minimal.

Why is it now possible to eat and drink during childbirth?

Recent studies indicate that the prohibition of eating during childbirth does not provide any benefits to a woman who is in the process of childbirth. Scientists now believe that a woman with an uncomplicated, healthy pregnancy in labor can eat in moderation if she feels the need to.

After all, a complete ban on water and food can adversely affect not only the physical condition of the woman in labor, causing dehydration, but also disrupt the psychological comfort of the expectant mother. Stress, provoked by a strict ban on food and drink, can lengthen and complicate childbirth.

Conversely, according to another study, drinking a small amount of water and food helps to reduce the labor period by an average of 90 minutes, reduces the need for painkillers for a woman in labor, and contributes to the birth of a child with a higher Apgar score. Doctors advise obese women and those who take certain types of painkillers during childbirth (they are able to relax the muscles of the digestive tract) to continue to limit themselves in food.

Eat or drink?

A study conducted by British scientists from King's College London found that eating a woman during childbirth does not affect either their duration or the number of interventions, including surgical ones, in childbirth. During the experiment, women giving birth were divided into two groups, in the first group they were allowed to eat some solid or liquid food (small portions of bread, fruit, yogurt), in the other, women were offered only water. The results of the two groups were almost the same - 44% of vaginal births in both groups, 10 hour births and almost the same rate of caesarean sections - 29% in the group where food was allowed, and 30% in the group where only water was allowed.

What can you eat during childbirth?

In uncomplicated childbirth, a woman can eat and drink if she feels she needs it. It is believed that it is better for a woman in labor to consume a small amount of liquid food or water.

During childbirth, a doctor may allow a woman to drink or eat the following:

fruit juice

boiled eggs

dry bread and butter

• baked fruit

Drinking water during childbirth

Drinking water in childbirth in small quantities also does not harm the woman. In America, for example, even before a planned caesarean section, a woman is allowed to drink clean water two hours before the operation.

If moderate water consumption does not affect the health of the mother in any way, then a large amount of water (more than 2.5 liters) drunk during childbirth increases the likelihood of developing hyponatremia (an abnormally low content of sodium ions in the blood) by 25%. Hyponatremia can occur, among other things, due to excessive drinking of water and lead to severe headaches, vomiting, and in severe cases to more serious consequences.

Scientists do not advise women to drink plenty of fluids during childbirth, because the stomach, due to reduced motility, gets rid of the contents more slowly, which can lead to vomiting. It is believed that the best drink during childbirth is pure water, which should be drunk in small quantities in small sips when the woman in labor feels the need for it.

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Have you ever heard of Mendelssohn's syndrome? This is a reaction of the digestive tract to general anesthesia. The syndrome was discovered in the forties of the last century. Doctors have found that if a woman in labor ate or drank during or shortly before childbirth, and was given general anesthesia, it could happen that pieces of food get into the lungs, and this can contribute to the development of pneumonia. In some cases, the consequences can be more serious, due to damage to the lungs, the woman may die.

But now, with cesarean section, general anesthesia is used very rarely, often epidular anesthesia is used for this operation, and therefore the ban on eating and drinking during childbirth is no longer relevant.

The way general anesthesia is used has also changed since then, the technique of performing caesarean sections has improved, so women do not need to worry about what she ate before giving birth. Since even in the event of an emergency caesarean section, food will not be a threat to the life of a woman.

Today, you can eat and drink during childbirth - this has been proven by various studies.

But our readers may have a completely logical question, why was it impossible before, but now it is possible?

First, many studies have been conducted and scientists have proven that during normal childbirth, a woman can consume water and food in small quantities.

Moreover, the ban on food and water during childbirth can affect not only the physical condition of the woman (dehydration, exhaustion), but also the moral one. And stress can lead to complications during childbirth.

Scientists have also proven that taking food or water during childbirth significantly reduces its duration.

But not all women are allowed to eat in childbirth, those who are overweight, as well as those who take certain types of anesthesia.

Food or water - which is better?

English scientists conducted a study by dividing women in labor into two groups, one was only allowed to eat some liquid or solid food, the other could only drink water. As a result, scientists found that food or water did not affect the duration of labor, both natural and by caesarean section. If the birth of a woman is natural and not complicated, then if desired, the woman can eat a small amount of food and water.

List of products that can be consumed in childbirth:

• natural juice;
• tea (not very strong);
• yogurt;
• bread rolls (you can spread a little butter);
• boiled eggs;
• fresh or baked fruits;
• bouillon;

Drinking water during childbirth should be moderate, if a woman drinks more than 2.5 liters, she may have a decrease in the amount of sodium ions in her blood, which can lead to headaches, nausea, and even vomiting.

Doctors believe that it is best to drink clean water during childbirth, you need to drink water in small sips and in small quantities.

The first birth lasts approximately from 12 to 16 hours, it is still possible to survive without food for so long, but without water it is very difficult. Therefore, it is better not to deplete your body, and take care of a bottle of water in advance.

Many women after childbirth admit that they are in childbirth, they did not want to at all.

Also, doctors say that taking a small amount of food can calm a woman during childbirth.

Listen to your own body and if you still want water, or you feel hungry - do not deny yourself. In this case, the principle applies: "if you really want, then you can." But remember that there should be a measure for everything.