There were many great things and many horrible things that I remember about labor and my eventual c-section. The one thing that always sticks out is how badly I wanted a drink of water.
I was not supposed to have anything to eat from midnight the night before, have nothing to drink other than a sip of water to take my meds in the morning and labor started at 8:30 AM. By 2:50 AM the NEXT DAY, I was mighty thirsty. I was famished. I couldn’t believe the torture the mean nurses and docs were doing to me.
The wonderful nurse I had in recovery was the one person who gave me a drink of water. I don’t recall her name, but she was my favorite person in the whole world at the time. She gave me water.
Even in hind site, I don’t understand why I couldn’t have ANYTHING. NOTHING. Hubby was a good sport and kept getting me ice chips. Not nearly satisfying enough, but I had to make do. He’d get mad at me when he caught me drinking the melted water.
NOW – a new study says that I was tortured w/ out cause. “Women should be allowed to eat and drink what they want during labor.”
HALLELUJAH! OK – I didn’t really worry about food because I was nauseous, but I wanted WATER. How bad could this be?
If I do get to have another child, I think I will make one of my interview questions for my OB if I can have water. Even if she/he is a little… sketchy, if they let me have water it will be worth major bonus points.
Is that so wrong?
Christy said:
I agree COMPLETELY. I had breakfast the morning my daughter was born, sneaked lunch at noon and then the withholding of food and drink commenced. Until after midnight when I finally BEGGED for food, was told the cafeteria was closed & that I shouldn’t be eating anyway (I might eat too fast and throw up). I proved that nurse wrong when I polished off the most generic ham & cheese sandwich, chips, and pickle in under 10 minutes. It was the best thing I ever ate. I think so much is controlled by the hospital out of fear of what might happen (e.g. emergency procedures that are more problematic when on a full stomach). There’s something to be said for letting nature take its course through a (generally) natural biological event.
And even if all that isn’t enough to convince you, if I have to fear uncontrollable “excretory processes” during delivery, at least let me do it with cause – a functional digestive system as a result of a full stomach!
Jen Pieper said:
I can provide insight as to “why”, I think. If you were induced they were anticipating issues with the induction that might result in a C-section. But you should have been allowed to progress your diet very rapidly once you were out of recovery. The 6 weeks I spend on L&D just cemented my thoughts that induction is torture and should only be done if mom or baby are in imminent danger.
sixofclubs said:
Oh sure – provide REASON to the rant about my desire for more than ice chips. That is no fair! LOL. I know there is “reason”… I still think it sucks.
Kira said:
Which hospital were you at? I was at Martha Jefferson and I was allowed to eat and drink. I wasn’t induced though so maybe that was why.
I didn’t eat much, just a handful of goldfish, but I was regretting it when it came time to push and the goldfish were trying to make a repeat appearance.
I remember being absolutely FAMISHED once Pierce was born but somehow my food got lost. I was almost in tears until someone took pity on me and brought me some food. The irony was that I could only take two bites before I became very nauseous.
Ahh, memories.
sixofclubs said:
Hmm… good to know. I was in Reston. I was warned in advance to eat well before going to the hospital because I wouldn’t get anything until there was a baby. This is before I knew I was being induced.
Lydia said:
Being your semi-clinical friend, I can give you a bit of insight into why they withheld liquids and food. You were apparently at a higher risk of a c-section and that “can” include general anesthesia.
I won’t go into details about what they do during this but if there are any stomach contents, they could very, very easily come up and go into the lungs causing aspiration pneumonia or worse.
They will actually cancel a surgery if they find out you’ve had more than ice chips or a tiny sip of water to take meds.
Either way, not pleasant.