Where did she go to nursing school? scary!! It is always “if, if, if…….

Just like everyone else who’s ever had emergency (non-cesarean) surgery in the past year! Is there even a measurable mortality rate for people aspirating stomach contents during emegency surgery under general anesthesia?!

Maybe I’ll buy a lotto ticket next time I’m in labor, since everyone’s convinced that laboring moms are going to have EVERYTHING possible go wrong even with a 1 in a 100,000 or 1,000,000 chance, like the “if c-section” then “if general” then “if aspirated”…situation.

Or, a meteor might crash through the roof and smoosh her! Run!!

When I had an emergency D&C for a miscarriage the Anesthesiologist didn’t bat an eye when I told him I had just eaten an energy bar an hour before. I had general anesthesia too. There has not been a single aspiration death in decades from anesthesia.

Well, it’s common sense that you don’t eat before surgery, so she was telling the truth…

Yeah, it is common practice for patients who are PLANNING to have surgery to refrain from eating. However, it is NOT common practice for people who are NOT planning to have surgery to refrain from eating JUST IN CASE something bad happens to them and they have to have emergency surgery. That is ESPECIALLY true for people who are planning to expend a lot of energy over a long period of time — like, say, be in labor for several hours. No one suggests a woman refrain from eating before running a marathon JUST IN CASE she falls and severely injures herself, requiring surgery. No one refrains from eating before driving a car, JUST IN CASE of an accident. And yet people who have just eaten have surgery-requiring emergencies every day, and do not die from aspirating their food while under anesthesia.

Put it this way. This nurse is asking this mom to undergo one of the most physically strenuous experiences of her life, potentially for hours on end (for me, my five labors averaged out to more than 11 hours apiece!), while being denied food on the off chance that something MIGHT go wrong, which MIGHT require a c-section (not all complications do!), which MIGHT require general anesthesia (an epidural is much more likely!), which MIGHT lead to her aspirating some of that food (even under general there’s a good chance she won’t!), which MIGHT cause her death. That’s a lot of sacrifice for such an incredibly SMALL risk!!

An anaesthetist told me that no-one’s aspirated and died since the 1950′s. It may be because we are more vigilant, or it may be that the drugs used now don’t provoke violent reactions. What happens if there is an emergency c- section and she needs a GA then? What if she has just walked off the street after luch and she needs surgery?
The chances are minute that something will go wrong. I know that ‘low risk’ doesn’t mean ‘no risk’, but we are becoming so paranoid. Fear of litigation is probably a bigger factor than fear of aspiration.

Actually, I am a motorcyclist, so I use an inherently dangerous form of transport. Because of this, I never eat until I am home and safe in the evening, just in case I have an accident during the day and need surgery. Thinking about it, getting out of bed in the morning is fraught with danger, so it would be good practice to take clear fluids only until you go to bed that night.
Probably be best to have an IV line in too, ‘just in case’.
yours facetiously,
Andy

I was acting as doula for this mom; it was an induction as well so we had no idea how long mom was going to be there starving! My understanding is that aspirating yogurt would be less than ideal; but with an empty stomach it would mean aspirating acid – much worse. When the nurse told me this, I really really really wanted to reply, “So, should we come back with the smart anesthesiologists are on staff?” but I refrained. I went back to mom’s room, told her what the nurses said, then offered her a hard boiled egg I brought. If anyone asked, she had the egg *before* we were told no food!

I had a c-section under general, and ate just before it and I’m fine! (funked a NST and BPP, Doc sent me to get something to eat and drink and then to repeat tests at L&D, flunked again)

I have uncontrolled acid reflux and I have an ‘asperation’ attack about once a month. I can tell you that asperating diluted stomach acid is WAY better than asperating undiluted stomach acid. And it is completely possible to asperate when there is only stomach acid in the empty stomach (the point to not eating is supposedly because you won’t reflux/asperation if your stomach is empty). I told our midwife during the first birth that I would absolutely be eating to keep my stomach acid deluted during the labor (which she agreed with) and will tell the same thing to the OB or midwife that attends my second. If I have to give birth in a hospital and they say no food, I have every intention of just ignoring them. Having an asperation attack during labor is NOT something I want to have, but if I do, I certainly don’t want it to be with undeluted acid! (I’ve asperated undeluted acid twice and almost had to call 911 and had difficulty breathing for twice as long as usual afterwards)

the whole aspiration thing is such crap. First of all, your stomach always has some gastric juices in it, so youve got stuff in there all the time anyways. Secondly your digestive system works slower when you are in labor to allow your uterus to take your bodys energy stores. So that midnight snack you ate 2 hrs before going into labor will still be in there by the time you give birth! Some people just dont know their stuff i tell ya!

I had an emergency c-section under general anesthetic almost immediately after consuming: one half of an I-Hop Colorado omelette, a large plate of hash browns with ketchup, three large pancakes and a glass of orange juice. Yep, my water broke almost immediately after gorging myself at I-Hop. And, the presenting baby (it was twins)was a footling breech. And, my platelets were too low for me to safely get an epidural. The anesthesiologist did not like it and wanted me to wait six hours, but the OB was afraid of cord prolapse, so the OB won and the anesthesiologist gave me a strong antacid before putting me under. And I did not aspirate and die, but I was quite happy afterwards for all that good fuel in my system for breastfeeding twins. Funny thing is, the anethesiologist remembered me four years later when I was having my next child, with the comment “And you ate the damn pancakes!”