Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
23
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“The Fact That You’re Hungry Tells Me You’re Not Really In Labor Yet.”
“The fact that you’re hungry tells me you’re not really in labor yet.” – L&D Nurse to mother being induced.
There are 36 comments to this post.
Mama Wrench had this to say,
Nov 23, 2011 @ 10:22 am (Quote)
This one was true for me. I always have a hard time eating when I’m anxious/at a heightened state of emotion. I only ate breakfast the whole day I was in labor (7 AM to 2AM the next day). Of course I was STARVING after though…
[Reply]
v had this to say,
Nov 23, 2011 @ 10:28 am (Quote)
I was about to cook dinner when I hit transition. A few minutes later a baby popped out, so I’m pretty sure I was in labor lol. And with my others we stopped on the way for some food. Because I was hungry.
[Reply]
Knitted in the Womb Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 7:40 am (Quote)
Yep. I’ve eaten as close as 30 minutes before birth (and had thoughts going through my head “its going to be a LONG time before this baby is born if I’m still wanting to eat!”).
[Reply]
Sarah Reply:
November 25th, 2011 at 6:27 am (Quote)
I didn’t eat much for 2-3 days before the birth of my first, and nothing for almost 24 hours. When I went into labor with my second, I refused to leave the house until I’d eaten a big plate of hamburger helper (interesting that I remember that particular meal more than 16 years later). DS was born about 2 hours after I finished and finally went to the hospital.
[Reply]
Then get me a competent nurse who has actually attended a birth… since you seem to be a dunder headed moron making up your own “facts”. And tell her to bring me a sandwich!
[Reply]
Just because you don’t let women eat during labor doesn’t mean they’re not hungry.
…Unless that’s what you have to tell yourself in order to make it OK to deprive a laboring woman of food.
“Everything I do as a nurse is safe and healthy and makes sense. I withhold food and drink from laboring women. Therefore it must mean they don’t need or want it. If they do, it must mean they’re not laboring.”
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:50 pm (Quote)
I think that’s exactly it. If laboring women couldn’t get hungry or thirsty, they wouldn’t have to have standing orders for laboring women to be NPO. But the nurse needs to make it make sense in her own mind without understanding herself as depriving someone of a basic human right.
[Reply]
Especially if the baby has just “dropped”, the mother may have more room in her tummy than she’s had in a while. I wasn’t hungry when I was in active labor, but I started out the day with a nice big plate of waffles 
[Reply]
Repeat after me:
There is no such thing as a one size fits all pregnancy/labor/birth.
There is no such thing as a one size fits all pregnancy/labor/birth.
There is NO SUCH THING as a one size fits all pregnancy/labor birth.
[Reply]
Next time I have a baby I’m bringing plenty of my own food to hospital!
Not only was I starved during labour, missing lunch and dinner, but when I returned to the maternity ward, they refused to get me food because it was too late at night and I’d have to wait till morning!
[Reply]
Christina Reply:
November 23rd, 2011 at 7:33 pm (Quote)
I had the same experience. I couldn’t believe that after starving me all day long all they were going to offer me to eat was a crusty old sandwich they scrounged up in the nurses lounge. Thank God my awesome doula was willing to run and get me a meal from the 24 hour restaurant down the street. I (well, my insurance company) paid that damn hospital 13,000 dollars and they couldn’t even offer me a decent meal after GIVING BIRTH! One of the many many reasons I’m having a homebirth this time around.
[Reply]
buggrit_1979 Reply:
November 30th, 2011 at 12:00 am (Quote)
Ohh man, what the frig? After I had my son I was almost immediately showed the kitchenette for the maternity ward– stocked with soups, TV dinners, fruit; a lot of basic stuff, but exactly what a new/nursing mom needs access to at any time of the day or night.
[Reply]
ARC Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 8:22 am (Quote)
That seems really dangerous! Aren’t we supposed to eat after birth to get that energy and nutrition? After my last baby, the next thing after the placenta was FOOD! Then a shower.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 9:14 am (Quote)
It would be dangerous if you weren’t in a hospital, but in a hospital, health and wellness occurs, so it’s perfectly safe for doctors and nurses to withhold food from hungry people who have just engaged in hours of intense work.
[Reply]
SculptorAlison Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 7:35 pm (Quote)
My midwives *made* me eat right after my home birth. Not that they really had to because I was very hungry, but they made certain that I ate a substantial amount. After my hospital birth (first child), the kitchen was closed and all that there was to eat was vanilla pudding and graham crackers. Not exactly filling or nourishing after I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours. My husband had to go out and get me something.
[Reply]
Angie Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 10:33 am (Quote)
My midwife had me order my dinner before the kitchen closed, whether I wanted it or not, so I could have the food when I was done with labor. They just put my order in the fridge for me until I wanted it! I guess you’d have to plan ahead for that, though.
[Reply]
Darsy Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 6:10 pm (Quote)
They almost did this to me, but the nurse on the ward said ‘oh HELL naw’ and found us some bagged lunches from I have no idea where. It really saved me, because while I’d called down to the kitchen in enough time to get food, they’d stopped answering the phone 10 minutes early, so I was shit out of luck.
[Reply]
Emily G. had this to say,
Nov 23, 2011 @ 2:09 pm (Quote)
Are you kidding me? I was giving my husband my Subway order between pushes. Lunchtime had passed while I was in transition, and I was STARVING!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:34 pm (Quote)
I had my subway order to my dad before labor so he knew what to show up with! lol, I missed lunchmeat sooo much!
[Reply]
Erica Douglas Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 10:58 am (Quote)
Me too! I started craving Subway at about six weeks. My MIL had a footlong sub for me when Baby was about three hours old. Nicest thing she’s ever done for me!
[Reply]
With my first two labors I didn’t want to eat.42 hours and 12 hours of labor respectively with no food by my own choice. But with my third labor, I ate half a lasagna 2 hours into my 6 hour labor. HALF a lasagna! It shocked my husband. lol
[Reply]
After pushing through one particularly intense contraction, I breathed deep and said, “I’m so…” The nurses stopped and looked a little frightened about what I might say next. “HUNGRY!” They looked relieved and laughed and said when this baby was out I could have anything I wanted. Baby was born a few minutes later.
(note…they were not against me eating during labor…but I was so close to delivering it would have been ridiculous to stop and eat at that moment…lol!)
[Reply]
I was so excited at the start of labor that I wasn’t hungry…6-8 hours in, however, I was STARVING. When my labor stalled my doula asked if I’d eaten. That’s when I realized I was starving. We ate spaghetti I’d made (homebirth) and, you know what, my labor started up again!
After I gave birth I devoured a double cheeseburger, fries, and a large soda…birth is a marathon!
[Reply]
I ate through my first labor–I was quite hungry. With my second, I wasn’t hungry until toward the end. With this most recent one, I was complaining about being starving and needing to throw up at the same time as I went into transition (I had eaten some, but mostly just slept–it was a night labor).
[Reply]
With my first, I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to eat at the hospital, so once I realized I was in labor and needed to go in (I spent several hours in labor at home, thinking I was having bathroom issues instead), I grabbed a box of Cheez-Its with the intention of eating some in the car on the way there since it was the middle of the night and I hadn’t eaten in hours. During an intense contraction, I spilled the whole box. I was SO mad! And I was super hungry during labor!
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
Previous Post
« “…You’re Going To Look Like The Michelin Girl By The Time You Deliver.” Next Post
“How Do You Expect Me To Work?” »
« “…You’re Going To Look Like The Michelin Girl By The Time You Deliver.” Next Post
“How Do You Expect Me To Work?” »
Twice in active labor I was hungry, and I ate and drank what I wanted. Guess what? Being in labor doesn’t mean all other sensations shut off. Hunger and thirst are signs that the body needs to be replenished ans it’s frustrating to know so many mothers are starved when their bodies need food the most.
[Reply]