GD and snacks during labor

[amygoforth]

I have a client (I'm her doula) due in a few weeks who has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (via glucose test). She's been managing well with diet and exercise.

During a prenatal visit last night, we talked about eating during labor. She wants to be able to snack as desired to keep her energy up (against hospital policy, of course) but she's concerned about her blood sugar levels during labor, and the baby's blood sugar levels once he's born. Common sense tells me that whatever she's been snacking on throughout her pregnancy would be fine for labor (she mentioned blueberries, and I read someplace that whole grains are good too), but what are some other suggestions? Should this even be a concern?

[courtenay_e]

Whatever she eats, you want her to eat a good balance of complex carbs and easily digestible proteins, in small frequent "meals" (ie: a bite after every contraction or two) as long as she's interested in food...fortunately, eating like this will keep her sugar level pretty good, and thus she may not BE hungry, which is the hardest part of eating this way.