Eating in Labor: Trusting the Mother’s Gut Instinct

Gloria Lemay Original Article Published in Pathways Winter 2009 Issue, more info available at http://www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org

The wheels of progress seem to turn excruciatingly slowly over at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The organization has just come out with official policy that reverses its position on withholding beverages from birthing women. The lightbulb has finally come on: Nothing is helped by completely starving a woman and her unborn baby.

Midwives needn’t worry that this will send homebirthers rushing into the hospital for their births. It will likely take another 30 years for ACOG to come up with a policy about what kind of drink might be most helpful and how to get it out of food services at 3:00 a.m.

The homebirth experience provides a window into what happens with the human mammal who is not told what to eat or drink, and who can open her own fridge or cupboard any time she wants. When a woman eats to her own satisfaction in the early birthing hours, that food does not digest in the usual way. The hormones of birth slow digestion to a crawl. However, the food in the stomach provides energy, via sugars, to the birthing woman and baby...

About the Author: Gloria Lemay has been a birth attendant and educator since the 1970’s. Gloria can be visited at www.glorialemay.com.