Can You Eat and Drink During Labor at a Birth Center?

If you have heard that labor means nothing but ice chips, there is a real history behind that rule, and it still shapes many hospital policies. Below is what the major health organizations say, how our birth center handles food and drink, and when the advice may be different for you.

Key Takeaways

• At Birthing Center NYC, clients eat and drink as they please in labor.
• The World Health Organization recommends food and fluids in labor for women at low risk.
• ACOG and the American Society of Anesthesiologists support clear liquids in labor and advise avoiding solid food. Their caution comes from a risk tied to general anesthesia.
• Your health, how your labor is going, and any need for anesthesia can change what is recommended for you.

Yes, You Can Eat and Drink During Labor at Our Birth Center

At Birthing Center NYC, our clients eat and drink as they please in labor. This approach is supported by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). IV fluids are kept for those who benefit from them and are not given routinely.

That does not mean you are expected to eat. The choice is yours, and appetite often changes as labor gets stronger. If something about your health or your labor changes, talk with your midwife about what makes sense from that point on.

For healthy, low-risk labors, this approach has support from several sources:

• World Health Organization (WHO). WHO recommends food and fluids by mouth during labor for women at low risk. It found that restricting food and drink has no beneficial effect on important clinical outcomes, and it put its emphasis on respecting the woman's wishes.
• Cochrane. A Cochrane review of five trials with 3,130 women found no benefits and no harms from restricting food and fluids. It concluded there is no justification for the restriction in women at low risk of complications.
• ACNM. A statement from ACNM and two other midwifery organizations lists going without food and drink among the things that disrupt normal labor and birth. ACNM's clinical bulletin on the subject aims to support informed, shared decisions about eating and drinking for women at low risk of aspiration, which means food or liquid from the stomach getting into the lungs.

Why Eating and Drinking Can Matter During Labor

Your body needs fluid and energy in labor. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says drinking can be encouraged in labor to meet hydration and calorie needs, and that women whose labor is progressing on its own may not need routine IV fluids. An IV is safe, ACOG notes, but it limits freedom of movement.

Going without has costs too. The obstetric anesthesia committee of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) notes that thirst adds significantly to discomfort in labor. It also notes that long periods without food late in pregnancy can lead the body to produce ketones, which happens when it runs short of fuel. ACNM adds that withholding food and drink may contribute to stress and dissatisfaction with the birth experience.

Does eating make labor shorter? Only a little. A 2017 review of 10 trials with 3,982 women at low risk found that labor was about 16 minutes shorter on average when food was less restricted. There were no other differences in outcomes for mothers or babies, and no increase in vomiting.

Fluids and food are also among the supportive measures discussed in our article on what happens if labor does not progress.

What Can You Eat During Labor?

There is no official menu for labor. The research gives a sense of what has been studied. In the 2017 review, some trials let women choose foods from a set diet, several used carbohydrate drinks, one used a honey and date syrup, and one let women eat without restriction.

Researchers who presented a review at the 2015 anesthesiology annual meeting described a light meal in labor as fruit, light soups, toast, light sandwiches without large slices of meat, juice, and water. ASA later clarified that this was the researchers' view and not its own guidance, which says solid foods should be avoided in labor.

Appetite often settles the question of timing. The same researchers noted that most women lose their appetite during very active labor but can keep drinking fluids.

If you are planning to give birth with us, bring foods and drinks you already know sit well with you. Our guide to what to pack for a birth center birth covers snacks and drinks along with everything else.

What Can You Drink During Labor?

Fluids are the least debated part of this question. Even the most cautious guidance encourages them.

ACOG supports moderate amounts of clear liquids for women in labor who do not have complications. The ASA committee says patients should be offered clear liquids during labor, and it lists these:

• Water and ice chips
• Isotonic sports drinks
• Fruit juices without pulp
• Black coffee
• Tea without milk or cream

Sports drinks get a specific mention. The ASA committee notes that drinks containing carbohydrates or electrolytes reduce ketosis without significantly increasing the volume in the stomach, so they likely offer more benefit than other clear liquids.

Does Everyone Get the Same Advice?

No. The major organizations do not fully agree with each other, and your own situation matters.

• WHO recommends food and fluids in labor for women at low risk.
• ACNM supports informed, shared decisions about eating and drinking for women at low risk of aspiration.
• Cochrane found no justification for restricting food and fluids in women at low risk. It also notes that no studies looked specifically at women at increased risk of complications.
• ACOG supports moderate amounts of clear liquids for women without complications and says solid food and fluids containing particles should be avoided. It also notes that these restrictions have been questioned.
• The ASA committee (2022) says solid food should be avoided during active labor and clear liquids should be encouraged.

What is recommended for you can depend on:

• Your pregnancy and health history
• How your labor is going
• Your care team's assessment of you and your baby
• Whether anesthesia is planned or might be needed
• The policy of the place where you give birth
• Your midwife's or doctor's advice

The ASA committee names situations in which stricter limits may be recommended, even for clear liquids. Its examples include poorly controlled diabetes, a body mass index of 40 or higher, factors that make it harder to place a breathing tube, concerns about how the baby is doing, and labors that are likely to end in a cesarean birth.

Why Birth Center Policies Can Differ From Hospital Policies

The caution about food goes back to 1946, when Dr. Curtis Mendelson described cases of stomach contents entering the lungs of women given general anesthesia for childbirth. The medical word for this is aspiration. After that, restricting food in labor became the norm.

Anesthesia has changed since then. ACOG notes that the restrictions have been questioned because aspiration is uncommon with current obstetric anesthesia techniques. WHO noted that no cases were reported among more than 3,000 women in the trials it reviewed.

The ASA committee still urges caution. It says serious aspiration events do still occur, that most cesarean births done under general anesthesia are emergencies, and that eating freely in labor likely raises the risk if general anesthesia turns out to be needed.

The setting matters too. Hospital guidance covers a wide range of medical and pregnancy conditions, and the ASA committee notes that local hospital policies on eating and drinking vary widely. A birth center in New York is a different setting. State regulations say birth centers admit only low-risk patients and do not give general or regional anesthesia at the center.

None of this means a birth center ignores medical concerns. If your situation changes, the advice changes with it. For a broader comparison of the two settings, see our article on delivering at a hospital and at a birthing center.

What If My Labor Changes?

Plans for eating and drinking can change during labor, just as other parts of your care can. A few situations are worth knowing about ahead of time.

• Your risk level changes. If a condition develops that raises your risk, or a cesarean birth becomes likely, the ASA committee says stricter limits on food and drink may be recommended.
• You move to a hospital. Epidurals are not available at our birth center, so a client who wants one transfers to a hospital. From that point the hospital's policy applies. Our midwives attend births at our affiliated hospital, where they support food and drink when allowed. You can read more about hospital birth with our midwives.
• You have already eaten and now want an epidural. The ASA committee recommends that patients who arrive in labor with a full stomach not be denied an epidural or spinal.
• There is a concern about hydration. ACOG says IV fluids can be given as needed. At our center, IV fluids are kept for those who benefit from them.

How Eating and Drinking Fits Into Birth Center Labor Care

Food and drink are one part of how labor is supported at our center. Birthing Center NYC families also have:

• Freedom to move and choose comfortable positions
• Continuous support through labor and birth
• Monitoring that is done intermittently, with waterproof fetal monitors
• Private birth suites with birthing pools

This care is provided by our midwifery team. If you want more detail, read about continuous labor support and about pain relief options at a birth center.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Birth Center

Policies differ between birth centers and hospitals, so ask directly. These questions work for any place you are considering:

• Can I eat and drink during labor, and does that change as labor goes on?
• Do you provide food or drinks, or should I bring my own?
• Is there a place to store or warm food?
• In what situations would you ask me to stop eating, or to have clear liquids only?
• When do you use IV fluids?
• If I transfer to a hospital, what is that hospital's policy on eating and drinking?
• Can my partner and support people eat in the room?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I drink water during labor?

Yes. ACOG supports moderate amounts of clear liquids for women in labor who do not have complications, and the ASA committee lists water among the clear liquids patients should be offered. At Birthing Center NYC, clients drink as they please.

Can I eat during active labor?

At our birth center, clients eat as they please in labor. The trials in the Cochrane review all involved women in active labor who were at low risk, and the review found no harms from eating. For hospital patients, the ASA committee advises avoiding solid food during active labor.

Why do some hospitals allow only ice chips or clear liquids?

The rule comes from the risk of food or liquid from the stomach entering the lungs during general anesthesia. ACOG and the ASA committee support clear liquids and advise avoiding solid food in labor. Individual hospital policies vary.

Can I eat if I plan to have an epidural?

Epidurals are given in a hospital, so the hospital's policy applies. ACOG and the ASA committee support clear liquids in labor and advise avoiding solid food. The ASA committee also says patients who arrive with a full stomach should not be denied an epidural or spinal. Ask the hospital what its policy is.

Do I have to eat during labor?

No. WHO's recommendation puts its emphasis on respecting the woman's wishes, and researchers have noted that most women lose their appetite during very active labor but can keep drinking fluids.

Sources and References

• WHO Recommendations: Intrapartum Care for a Positive Childbirth Experience. World Health Organization.
• Approaches to Limit Intervention During Labor and Birth, Committee Opinion No. 766. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
• Providing Oral Nutrition to Women in Labor. American College of Nurse-Midwives Clinical Bulletin, Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health.
• Supporting Healthy and Normal Physiologic Childbirth: A Consensus Statement by ACNM, MANA, and NACPM. Journal of Perinatal Education.
• Eating and Drinking in Labour. Cochrane.
• Statement on Oral Intake During Labor. American Society of Anesthesiologists, Committee on Obstetric Anesthesia.
• Most Healthy Women Would Benefit From Light Meal During Labor and ASA's clarification of that release. American Society of Anesthesiologists.
• Less-Restrictive Food Intake During Labor in Low-Risk Singleton Pregnancies: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Restriction of Oral Intake During Labor: Whither Are We Bound? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Section 754.3 and Section 795.3, Service Restrictions. New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 10.

About the Author

Judy Ribner, DNP, CNM

Doctor of Nursing Practice and Certified Nurse-Midwife. Founder, Birthing Center NYC.

Judy Ribner is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Certified Nurse-Midwife, and the founder of Birthing Center NYC in Brooklyn, New York. Her work centers on midwifery care, patient education, and helping families understand their birth options clearly enough to make decisions that fit their own pregnancy and health history.

This content is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace personalized medical advice from a qualified healthcare provider. Every pregnancy and health situation is unique, and individuals should discuss their care options with their healthcare provider.