Many women are still being told not to eat during labor. There are real risks of fasting during the hard work of labor. Over use of IV fluids  can reduce electrolyte balance and occasionally give to much fluid during labor. The anesthesiologists claim eating can cause choking if the mother vomits under general anesthesia. Should all women be denied food for this reason?

Effect of food intake during labour on obstetric outcome: randomised controlled trial. [Full text]
O'Sullivan G, Liu B, Hart D, Seed P, Shennan A.
BMJ. 2009 Mar 24;338:b784. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b784.

This study found that "Consumption of a light diet during labour did not influence obstetric or neonatal outcomes in participants, nor did it increase the incidence of vomiting. Women who are allowed to eat in labour have similar lengths of labour and operative delivery rates to those allowed water only. "

". . . [W]omen in the eating group were advised to consume a low fat, low residue diet at will during their labour. The emphasis was on small regular amounts of food rather than eating set regular meals. Suggested foods included bread, biscuits, vegetables, fruits, low fat yoghurt, soup, isotonic drinks, and fruit juice"

From the article: The obstetric guideline of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, published in 2007, states that "the oral intake of solids during labour increases maternal complications,"¹ ...It also recommends that "the oral intake of modest amounts of clear liquids (e.g. water, clear tea, black coffee, and sports drink) may be allowed for uncomplicated labouring patients." The policy of fasting during labour was adopted after Mendelson published his now classic description of acid pulmonary aspiration in 1946.² Pulmonary aspiration in obstetrics has declined dramatically in recent years,....^{3 4 5 6 7 8} ...In the Netherlands 79% of clinicians allow food intake in labour,¹¹ .... To date five randomised controlled trials, in fewer than 1000 women, have evaluated the influence of calorific intake on outcome of labour.^{13 14 15 16 17} Four studies reported no significant differences in either the mode of delivery or neonatal outcome^{13 14 15 17}; however, one study reported longer labours in women who consumed food,¹³ and another showed an almost threefold increase in the rate of caesarean delivery.¹⁶ These, however, had limited power to detect clinically important differences or show the clinical equivalence of treatments.

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