Prevention of aspiration pneumonitis in the obstetric patient

Fasting in Labor: Relic or Requirement

“…As more and more hospitals and birth centers have liberalized their NPO policies, aspiration deaths have not increased and have, in fact, continued to decline. Soreide (1997) described the conflictual relationship between anesthesiologists and obstetriciandmidwives on the issue of food and fluid consumption during labor. According to Soreide, anesthesiologists prefer to limit oral intake, if any, during labor, whereas many nurses, midwives, and physicians promote oral intake to improve the metabolic status of the mother and fetus and to increase patient satisfaction.…”