06/02/2026
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!
This will forever be one of the hills I will die on when it comes to labor and birth. I think it's SO INCREDIBLY important that we understand the "why" behind this popular hospital policy, and also the current evidence that makes it so absurd.
So why do hospitals have policies and rules against women eating and drinking freely during labor? It began in the 1940s when general anesthesia was common during birth. Unfortunately, because of this, the rates of death due to aspiration were higher. Aspiration occurs when the stomach contents are vomited into the lungs, leading to complications or death. Thankfully, due to new techniques to manage stomach contents and to keep the airway safe during surgery, aspiration has become incredibly rare. The number of cesarians that are done under general anesthesia has also drastically dropped to under 6% in recent years.
So what are the ACTUAL risks, now that rates of general anesthesia are so low, and we manage things differently? I'm so glad you asked. Two large studies have been done to answer this. In the US, a study was performed between 1979-1990 across 45 million births. During that decade, 33 women died from aspiration during a c-section under general anesthesia. This is approximately 1 death for every 1.4 million births. (Hawkins et al., 1997)
In the UK, a study from 2013-2015 found 1 confirmed death from aspiration out of 1.5 million pregnancies. (Knight et al., 2016)
To look at that number as a percentage, you have a 0.000067% chance of dying due to aspiration during a c-section under general anesthesia. Think about that for a second. I can't think of anything else in life that we avoid or have policies against for such a miniscule risk. It's actually ridiculous!!! ONE OUT OF 1.5 MILLION!!
But now here's the kicker: Let's talk about the risks of NOT eating and drinking freely during labor. Women who do not nourish their bodies during labor experience much higher rates of maternal exhaustion. Fasting causes your body to burn fat for fuel, which actually reduces the effectiveness of contractions. What does this usually look like?? "Failure to progress!" So, they don't let your body eat, leading to exhaustion and ineffective contractions, and then they label YOUR BODY the failure. This leads to higher rates of pitocin augmentation, higher rates of vacuum and forcep deliveries, and higher rates of c-section deliveries, which is incredibly ironic.
The bottom line is this: ACOG recommends that women be allowed to eat and hydrate freely during labor. Your hospital's policy does not mean you CANNOT eat and hydrate freely. Hospital policy is not law, and no one can lawfully keep you from eating. You have bodily autonomy during your birth, and if you feel hungry, tired, worn out or have experienced a stall in labor, you probably need to EAT!! Try to have nutrient-rich foods such as high protein and carb snacks handy at all times.
Or have a doula who always brings a fully stocked snack bag!! 😉
