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What to eat/drink during labor and after birth?

2K views 11 replies 12 participants last post by  sahli29 
#1 ·
I'm planning a homebirth and looking for suggestions on good things to eat/drink during labor and right after birth.
 
#2 ·
During labor I had stockpiled things like honey, miso soup, protein shake etc...but the only things my midwives could get me to eat/drink were lime popsicles, ice-water and Recharge
...I remember one of my midwives offering me toast and just walking away in disgust
: Afterwords...I wanted a turkey sandwich more than anything and my poor squeamish 19 yr. old SIL was more than happy to leave all the blood and the placenta-in-a-bowl to go to the deli for me.


Slightly off-topic: We had a great group of friends who signed up to bring us meals for about ten days after the birth. This is a fabulous idea. It is nice because the food arrives, your visitors are there for a very short, finite time (drop off food, admire baby, leave) and your friends know that they get to see the baby on their dinner night and don't all swamp you on day two. They brought all sorts of yummy stuff...salads, lasagna, tasty veggie stew, ice-cream...all breastfeeding friendly, of course.


Good Luck
 
#3 ·
during labour, i ate toast, apple juice, water, popscicles, and some little hard candies to suck on.

after labour, i had the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich


i think it's best to stock up on things that are easy to eat (already prepared, so you don't have to wait), lots of things to sip on, and things that are easy to digest.

happy homebirthing!!
 
#4 ·
Ya know, people always talk about eating during labor........I've never really experienced "early labor"........my labors just start with a bang and steamroll me, so maybe thats why I feel this way..........but I can't imagine TRYING to eat during labor!

I bought Gatorade and they forced me to sip about half a glass through my last labor but I wasn't really interested and I DEFINITELY wasn't about to eat. After my water broke (more than a day before I went into labor) I made sure I ate a few protein bars and meat....turkey sandwhiches, etc. And lots of Gatorade in the couple days before labor, especially after my water broke.

Granted, my last labor was only 4 hours, but at the end of it I felt fine and was way less shakey and tired than I'd been with my first labor, where I didn't really prepare in terms of food and drink at all.
 
#6 ·
Well, I've had a very long labor and a very short labor. :LOL

I think during very long labors its good to eat high protien meals. I ate Burger King. So gross, yes, but after 38 hours I was STARVING. Towards the end (no that wasn't the end) I couldn't keep much down (probably from eating Burger King) but little things that could give my blood sugar a boost where awesome! Here's what we took to the hospital with us after we transfered. They worked awesome for us, and the hospital was fine about letting us eat them. They were the ones who actually sent dh to Burger King for me when I first got there.

honey sticks
lollipops
popsicles
sprite
recharge

Afterwards I remember drinking like a quart of ice cold OJ. It was the best thing I had ever tasted!

Ok, so here's what I ate at my 2 1/2 hour homebirth. There wasn't a lot of time to eat anything...

Calistoga lemonades. Nice and fizzy to help with upset stomach. Also disguised the taste of the afterpain tincture very well.

See's candy chocolates (don't ask)

And afterwards we just ordered a pizza. I wonder what the delivery guy thought. I really didn't eat that much with this labor. My stomach had been really upset.
 
#7 ·
Dido on the Recharge--much better ingredients than Gatorade. I like the Tropical flavor. It has hibiscus tea in it (high in vit.C). I really don't remember eating anything, although I'm sure I did at some point.

Way to take charge of your birth
It will transform not only the moment, but your life! Have fun.
 
#8 ·
I had a fast labor, too and didn't eat/drink anything. But afterward, I drank a whole bottle of Recharge. I have never tasted anything so good. B/c it was so short, I don't remember being famished afterward-I went to bed and woke later in the day and probably ate cereal or something. A friend brought a HUGE pot of beef stroganoff and dh and I ate that for days afterward. I agree that it is really nice to not have to cook at all.
 
#9 ·
I have long labors, but must have heard the opposite advice. I heard that labor is like a major athletic event, and that you should be carbo loading before, and then eat whatever goes down easy during.

During labor #1 I was in the hospital. DH went to Burger King, but that sounded totally disgusting, and he ended up getting me some cereal from the little kitchen that they kept for the new moms. I also drank lots of water and lemonade. After dd was born (3 am after a 7 am induction the previous day!) I was STARVING! They brought me food from the cafeteria, though I don't remember what it was...just whatever they had around at 3 am. Then, when I got back to my room, I ate all of the snacks that we had brought for dh to eat while I was in labor. And THEN I ate breakfast when they brought it a few hours later.

Labor #2 was at home, I ate dinner at 6 pm, though not much, as I was already feeling, not really nauseous, but not really like eating either. I did eat yogurt and granloa bars periodically through the labor and drank lots of Gatorade and water. During transition my midwife thought I was running out of energy and tried to get me to eat a chicken quesadilla (which she had very kindly gone and made for me.) I point blank refused. That sounded like the nastiest, heaviest blah for my stomach.

I was again starving after another 3 am delivery, but I think I just ate more yogurt and granola bars until morning, when I had breakfast. I'm a big breakfast person even when I haven't just gone through a marathon delivery!

I definitely say, have snacks at the ready, for during and after, for you and your support people-you don't want anyone to have to LEAVE to get food.

My two cents.

Rochelle
Mommy to Meg 5/00, Peter 6/02, #3 due 8/04
 
#11 ·
I had a bowl of cereal about 6 hours into labor and some cheese and crackers, which were really good (dh sliced up a few varieties of cheese for me) about 13 hours into labor while in the bathtub. We went to the birth center a couple of hours later, where they attempted to force apple juice for energy during transition, which was BAD! I puked it up within 10 minutes. It was my first, so labor lasted a total of 23 hours. Sleep was more important than food afterwards, but when breakfast time rolled around, I ate three bites of scrambled eggs. I would have eaten more, but I didn't have the energy to lift the fork to my mouth.

I'm already craving buttermilk pancakes with bananas after I deliver this one, and I'm not due for another three months, but that's been a constant craving throughout this pregnancy!
 
#12 ·
With my first labor I drank pineapple juice.Don't recall what I ate later on.With my second homebirth I don't recall eating/drinking anything(5 hour labor) except water I suppose.After the birth I took a shower/bath and ate a luna bar while in the tub.Then dh got me some fast food later on.
sara
 
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