Oral Feeding During Established Labor at Our Institution

Oral Feeding During Established Labor. Current Practices in the Obstetric Department of the Femme Mère Enfant Hospital (Lyon, France)

Current French guidelines allow oral intake of clear fluid in women in established labor under epidural analgesia. To date, no study assessed how these guidelines are followed in clinical practice. This study aims to assess the current practices as to the fasting during the labor at our institution, while assessing the experience and the expectations of the parturients (level of comfort or discomfort related to fasting).

Inclusion Criteria:

• All adult woman who has been in labor in our hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient refusal
• Elective cesarean section, or emergency cesarean section in a woman not in labor
• Intrauterine fetal death
• Therapeutic abortion
• Patient consent not available (for example, in case of severe post-partum hemorrhage)