What to eat before being induced for labor: Foods to Eat Before Labor Induction – Happiest Baby

Foods to Eat Before Labor Induction – Happiest Baby

By
Gabrielle McPherson, MS, RDN, LDN

Your birthing checklist is heavy on your mind as you get ready for your baby’s debut. You’ve packed your hospital bag, prepped freezer meals, have millions of tiny clothes folded and put away. Your bassinet and white noise machine are all set up and waiting. But if you’re scheduled for a labor induction, there’s another must-do to add to your list: Eat well before getting admitted! Prepping for labor is like getting ready for the biggest workout of your life, and you need the energy from good nutrition to help support your body for delivery. Here’s everything you need to know about what to eat before your labor induction begins.

What is labor induction?

Labor induction is when your medical provider artificially triggers your labor before spontaneous labor has a chance to start. This is sometimes recommended if your baby-to-be’s weight is lower than expected or if their amniotic fluid is less than the norm. Other reasons you might have labor induced include having high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, or being overdue. At the same time, sometimes families request an elective labor induction for personal reasons. 

Why does eating well before labor matter?

Marathon runners consider their nutrition long before it’s time to race. Labor is no different. In fact, the calorie demands of laboring moms and marathon runners are nearly identical! And consuming those extra calories pays off. Research in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology shows that moms-to-be who fuel up with food during labor actually experience shorter labor times when compared to those who were more restrictive with their in-labor noshing. Though this study was on eating during labor, the benefits are still applicable for eating beforehand.

What should I eat before labor induction?

The best foods for labor are easy to eat and digest, filling, and energizing. That also means avoiding foods that are high in fat, greasy, or spicy, since these can be more difficult to digest. Here are key nutrients to consider before contractions hit:

• Carbohydrates: Energizes your labor so you can push through like a champ.

• Protein: Keeps you satisfied and sustained for a hunger-free labor.

• Low fat: Sticking to low-fat foods may help reduce the risk of laboring with stomach discomfort.  

• Low fiber: While fiber is great for your health, it can be hard on your digestive system when your body is otherwise working hard during labor. So in this case, low fiber is the way to go.

Mix-and-Match Pre-Labor Foods

Eating before your induction doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to be concerned about the amount of food you consume, just eat until you’re satisfied. Simply try your best to include a carbohydrate and a protein source. 

Meals to Eat Before Labor Induction

• Noodles, tofu strips, and broth = tofu noodle soup
• Bread + peanut butter = peanut butter sandwich
• Rice + grilled chicken cubes + salad greens = chicken rice bowl
• Tortillas + scrambled eggs + salsa = breakfast tacos
• Pancakes + turkey sausage links
• Roasted skinless potato + tofu strips
• Toast + canned salmon 

Snacks to Eat Before Labor Induction

• Grapes + low-fat yogurt cup + granola
• Applesauce pouch + mozzarella cheese stick
• Peeled apple slices + cucumber sticks + light ranch dip
• Watermelon + hard boiled egg
• Graham crackers + peanut butter
• Mozzarella cheese stick + cherry tomatoes 
• Rice cakes + peanut butter
• Mozzarella cheese stick + crackers
• Trail mix (dry cereal, dried fruit, crushed pretzels, peanuts)

Can I eat during labor?

Doctors used to tell their pregnant patients to fast during labor because they were worried that they’d vomit and choke while giving birth. Thankfully, that’s no longer the standard advice. However, if you’re obese, using opioids to manage labor pain, have eclampsia, or preeclampsia, your medical provider will discourage you from eating during labor because you’re at an increased risk of aspiration, which is when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. For everyone else, having a light meal during labor—like fruit, a light soup or sandwich, toast, water—is a-okay. The only hitch? It’s pretty common for your appetite to vanish during all the breathing and pushing required during labor…and that’s why it’s super-important to fuel up before your induction. Either way, pack a large, insulated water bottle to take with you to the hospital—along with an insulated lunch where you can safely tote some easy-on-the-tummy snacks for you to have during labor. (Check with your hospital about their eating-during-labor policy beforehand.)

About Gabrielle McPherson

Gabrielle McPherson, MS, RDN, LDN is registered dietitian in Missouri who specializes in community and pediatric nutrition. Gaby is passionate about encouraging families to eat well in simple, practical ways that are realistic…and delicious! When not working, Gaby loves cooking, baking, and making messes and memories with her sous-chef/preschooler Charlotte.

View more posts tagged,
labor & delivery

Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to
help! Connect with us at [email protected].

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or
condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or
yourself, please contact your health provider.

Foods to Eat Before Labour Induction – Happiest Baby Australia

By Happiest Baby Staff

Written by Gabrielle McPherson, MS, RDN, LDN

Your birthing checklist is heavy on your mind as you get ready for your baby’s debut. You have packed your hospital bag, prepped freezer meals, have millions of tiny clothes folded and put away. Your bassinet and white noise machine are all set up and waiting. But if you are scheduled for a labour induction, there is another must-do to add to your list: Eat well before getting admitted! Prepping for labour is like getting ready for the biggest workout of your life, and you need the energy from good nutrition to help support your body for delivery. Here is everything you need to know about what to eat before your labour induction begins.

What is labour induction?

Labour induction is when your medical provider artificially triggers your labour before spontaneous labour has a chance to start. This is sometimes recommended if your baby-to-be’s weight is lower than expected or if their amniotic fluid is less than the norm. Other reasons you might have labour induced include having high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, or being overdue. At the same time, sometimes families request an elective labour induction for personal reasons.  

Why does eating well before labour matter?

Marathon runners consider their nutrition long before it is time to race. Labour is no different. In fact, the calorie demands of labouring mums and marathon runners are nearly identical! And consuming those extra calories pays off. Research in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology shows that mums-to-be who fuel up with food during labour actually experience shorter labour times when compared to those who were more restrictive with their in-labour noshing. Though this study was on eating during labour, the benefits are still applicable for eating beforehand.

What should I eat before labour induction?

The best foods for labour are easy to eat and digest, filling, and energising. That also means avoiding foods that are high in fat, greasy, or spicy, since these can be more difficult to digest. Here are key nutrients to consider before contractions hit:

• Carbohydrates: Energises your labour so you can push through like a champ.

• Protein: Keeps you satisfied and sustained for a hunger-free labour.

• Low fat: Sticking to low-fat foods may help reduce the risk of labouring with stomach discomfort.  

• Low fiber: While fiber is great for your health, it can be hard on your digestive system when your body is otherwise working hard during labour. So in this case, low fiber is the way to go.

Mix-and-Match Pre-Labour Foods

Eating before your induction does not have to be complicated. You do not need to be concerned about the amount of food you consume, just eat until you are satisfied. Simply try your best to include a carbohydrate and a protein source. 

Meals to Eat Before Labour Induction

• Noodles, tofu strips, and broth = tofu noodle soup
• Bread + peanut butter = peanut butter sandwich
• Rice + grilled chicken cubes + salad greens = chicken rice bowl
• Tortillas + scrambled eggs + salsa = breakfast tacos
• Pancakes + turkey sausage links
• Roasted skinless potato + tofu strips
• Toast + canned salmon 

Snacks to Eat Before Labour Induction

• Grapes + low-fat yogurt cup + granola
• Applesauce pouch + mozzarella cheese stick
• Peeled apple slices + cucumber sticks + light ranch dip
• Watermelon + hard boiled egg
• Graham crackers + peanut butter
• Mozzarella cheese stick + cherry tomatoes 
• Rice cakes + peanut butter
• Mozzarella cheese stick + crackers
• Trail mix (dry cereal, dried fruit, crushed pretzels, peanuts)

Can I eat during labour?

Doctors used to tell their pregnant patients to fast during labour because they were worried that they would vomit and choke while giving birth. Thankfully, that is no longer the standard advice. However, if you are obese, using opioids to manage labour pain, have eclampsia, or preeclampsia, your medical provider will discourage you from eating during labour because you are at an increased risk of aspiration, which is when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. For everyone else, having a light meal during labour—like fruit, a light soup or sandwich, toast, water—is a-okay. The only hitch? It is pretty common for your appetite to vanish during all the breathing and pushing required during labour…and that is why it is super-important to fuel up before your induction. Either way, pack a large, insulated water bottle to take with you to the hospital—along with an insulated lunch where you can safely tote some easy-on-the-tummy snacks for you to have during labour.(Check with your hospital about their eating-during-labour policy beforehand.)

View more posts tagged,
labour & delivery

Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to
help! Connect with us at customercare-au@happiestbaby. com.

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or
condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or
yourself, please contact your health provider.

What to eat or diet for pregnant women and women in childbirth

We already wrote about what is worth and what should not be changed in nutrition during pregnancy, what diet pregnant women need . But the conversation was in general, globally. Today we decided to learn in detail about what kind of food is preferable in the last months, that is, at a time when all efforts are directed to preparing for a successful and safe birth, and to the birth itself.

So, the most important principle of nutrition for pregnant women is food should be simple and healthy . First of all, this means the absence of all kinds of canned food in the menu: condensed milk, compotes, ready-made juices, yogurts (unless there are special marks “without preservatives”). All this, when accumulated in the body, can cause diathesis and dysbacteriosis in a child. Pregnancy is a very good time to start a new life, and in every way. For example, start hardening and dousing with cold water. Or – try to apply the principles of separate nutrition. After all, every mother wants her child not to get sick. So, right now you need to heal yourself. (Think about it, because in nature all animals eat separately, without mixing animal and vegetable food). A lot of books have already been published on separate nutrition, about the diet for pregnant women, from which you can learn in detail about these simple and useful rules.

A month before the expected birth , some amendments should be made to the nutrition of pregnant women: it is recommended to remove animal protein from the diet – meat, fish, eggs, butter, milk. There are fermented milk products, plant foods, cereals on the water, baked vegetables, fresh juices, mineral water, herbal teas. (But you have to be careful with herbs. For example, you can’t drink teas that include thyme, because it stimulates uterine contractions.)

Approx two weeks before delivery porridge and bread should be removed from the diet of pregnant women, leaving only plant foods and fermented milk products. This helps the intestines to remain unloaded. In addition, by this time the baby is already quite large and it is difficult for the body to process heavy food.

A week before the birth , only vegetable food remains (sour-milk products are excluded).

On the day of delivery , if contractions are already felt or the water has broken, it is better not to eat anything. This is due to two reasons: firstly, nausea often appears during contractions, and secondly, the intestines must be empty, since it is very difficult to go to the toilet after childbirth. It is better to do an enema at the very beginning of labor (it is less painful than in the midst of contractions). You can drink mineral water with lemon, because the mouth dries out during contractions.

On the first day after childbirth you can eat something; light yogurt, cottage cheese, muesli (without chocolate and without honey), corn flakes, oatmeal or buckwheat porridge, baked apples, banana, yellow peaches, a little biscuit, a piece of low-fat and unsalted boiled fish.

Starting from the second day of until the milk arrives, the amount of food should be reduced to a minimum! This is necessary so that more milk does not arrive than the child can eat, so that there is no bursting of the breast. Liquids can afford no more than half a liter per day (mineral water, sour fruit drink). If the child sucks for a sufficient time, then the milk will come evenly (by the way, in nature, animals do just that – the first two or three days they do not leave the hole and do not eat).

And, starting from the third or fourth day , when the milk has already arrived, you can gradually return to your usual diet. But do not lean on high-calorie foods, because at this time the mother still moves a little, does not spend a lot of energy.

About 80% of pregnant women complain of bowel problems (constipation, diarrhea). This is due to the restructuring of the body and, as a rule, is a dysbacteriosis. It is possible to avoid such ailments , using as much vegetable fiber as possible in the nutrition of pregnant women – fresh, stewed, baked vegetables and fruits, herbs. And also, periodically cleansing the intestines with a regular enema. In the absence of contraindications (threatened miscarriage, for example), you can do an enema every month from room temperature water with a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. You can start with half a liter, and later you can bring up to two liters of water. An enema is especially recommended for those who complain of prolonged (up to a week) constipation. For good bowel function, fasting days can be arranged. But everything should be fun. If you hate cottage cheese, you don’t have to choke on it all day long. You can “sit” the day on fruit or oatmeal, or apples, juices (freshly prepared!).

Any medications, supplements, prenatal vitamins take last if there is no other choice. Almost all the substances that the body needs can be obtained from food. Not enough calcium? You can grind the shell of one boiled egg, quench with lemon juice. And a teaspoon of this mixture will satisfy the daily need for calcium.

In order to make the tissues of the birth canal more elastic, you can use this method – drink a glass of fresh carrot juice daily and after that – a tablespoon of vegetable oil. (But only if there are no liver problems!)

Well, if in advance, before giving birth, you prepare a collection of herbs: thyme (here it is just the way), mint, lemon balm, oregano, rosehip, currant or raspberry. Tea brewed at this gathering should be drunk little by little during labor and after childbirth.

Marina Morozova,
founder of the Second Birth Center

We eat in childbirth! – articles from the specialists of the clinic “Mother and Child”

Artsybysheva Ludmila Romanovna

Obstetrician-gynecologist

Clinical hospital Lapino-1 “Mother and Child”, Clinic KG “Lapino” in Odintsovo (branch)

yes or no

did not even arise, the doctors believed that with the onset of contractions, food and drink should be forgotten. This was explained by the fact that if suddenly, for some reason, an emergency caesarean section is required, then general anesthesia will be needed, and before this anesthesia, you can’t drink, let alone eat (during such anesthesia, food residues can be thrown from the stomach into the lungs) . The only thing allowed was a few sips of water. But now everything has changed: childbirth has ceased to be a medical event, but has moved into the category of natural processes, no one thinks about “you never know what will happen”. In addition, even if a caesarean section is needed, then it (even an emergency one) is done almost everywhere with the help of epidural anesthesia (and eating does not affect it). So now doctors are not so categorical in relation to food in childbirth and even believe that food and water will help a woman avoid dehydration and maintain strength for experiencing contractions.

Therefore, if the birth is going well and you suddenly want to eat, then a light snack is allowed. Well, if you don’t even want to think about food, you don’t need to force yourself. In general, everything should be as desired.

when there is

Very often, on the day of childbirth, a woman notices that she does not feel like eating at all, at most – she would eat something light and simple. The same is possible with the onset of contractions: the body is not up to the digestive processes now, so there will be no strong appetite during childbirth. But, nevertheless, you don’t need to go to give birth on an empty stomach either, it will take strength in childbirth, and we take energy for them just from food. Therefore, with the onset of contractions, doctors recommend a woman to have a light snack – this is the best time to eat. Firstly, when the contractions are still weak and rare, you can eat without being distracted by painful sensations. Secondly, there is still a lot of time before the height of labor and the food has time to be digested, and this is important, because often during strong contractions, the woman in labor experiences nausea. Thirdly, at the beginning of labor, a woman is usually at home, where, of course, there is food, then there will simply be no place to take it in the rodblok.

what to eat

Which dish or product to choose? There are no special prohibitions for food, and you can focus on your wishes, but still it is worth considering that fatty foods are out of place now: it is also heavy for the stomach, and nausea in labor can increase. The same can be said about protein: it does not provide energy and is hard and slow to digest. It is best to eat something from carbohydrates – they are just digested easily and, most importantly, provide the necessary energy. For example, banana, crispbread, toast, cereal, crackers, fruit puree, broth, soup, or yogurt will do.

what to drink

Contractions are physical work, they are like running a long distance, so during childbirth there is almost always thirst. Another reason why women in labor are thirsty is that it is often too warm or even hot in the birthing room, and the air in it is very dry. So drinking during childbirth is not only possible, but necessary. What is the best choice? Plain water, clarified juice and weak tea will do. Soda, especially sweet, should not be drunk: gas and sugar can irritate the stomach and provoke or increase nausea. You need to drink little by little, but often (sometimes even the usual amount of liquid also causes vomiting).

caesarean section

As we have already said, now almost everywhere a planned caesarean section is done under epidural anesthesia and then eating and drinking is not prohibited. But if the operation is done under general anesthesia, then there will be restrictions on food intake. The last time you will be allowed to eat somewhere 8-12 hours before the operation. Since a planned caesarean section is usually performed in the morning, it turns out that the last meal is dinner. It should be light – the same bread, toast, yogurt, broth will do. Meat (even low-fat), cheeses, nuts, fatty cottage cheese – in general, it is better not to eat all foods that take a long time to digest. Also, do not eat a lot of fiber (vegetables and fruits) – it can affect bowel function.

If you suddenly need general anesthesia during childbirth, and the woman has recently eaten, you should definitely tell the anesthesiologist about this. The doctor will more closely monitor that, under anesthesia, the contents of the stomach do not enter the respiratory tract.

some nuances

– Today, almost all maternity hospitals can take water with you to childbirth. Better if it is in a plastic bottle.

– Can I take some food with me to the hospital? Everything here will depend on the rules of the hospital. Usually, it is not allowed to bring food directly into the maternity unit itself, and this is understandable: a woman is already in it during active contractions, when she is not at all up to eating. But there are exceptions, somewhere they are allowed to bring the same toast, bread, chocolate to the rodblok. In any case, you can put some non-perishable products in the bag for the maternity hospital: what if the birth is delayed, or the baby will be born late in the evening, when dinner is already over, and breakfast is still far away? This is where you can have a bite to eat.

– If a partner (husband, sister, girlfriend) is present at the birth, then in a few hours he will also want to eat. Therefore, something to eat will have to be taken for him.