CLEVELAND, Ohio – The last thing on April Baer’s mind while awaiting the birth of her first child was where her next meal was coming from.

A good thing, since she wouldn’t have gotten anything to eat even if she had asked.

Like most women who deliver in a hospital, Baer — who gave birth to baby Stella in early June — didn’t get a morsel of food to munch during her six-hour labor.

“It wasn’t really an issue for me,” says Baer, a former WCPN FM/90.3 reporter/producer who now works at Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland.

“Frankly, I was so consumed by the experience — and by the ‘experience,’ I mean pain — I wasn’t really thinking about food,” she says.

But for some women, especially those who don’t eat

“Marathon runners keep themselves well hydrated by drinking fluids during their races and so should most laboring women,” she said. “Every system in a woman’s body is taxed during labor, and all that effort takes fuel. When women are deprived of food and drink, it’s no surprise when those systems don’t work as intended.”

While the group does not have policies regarding specific protocols, members of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives also support natural childbirth and generally encourage food and drink in labor, group president Mary Lawlor said in an e-mail.

After delivery, most new mothers are laser-focused on their new baby and little else. But not always.

“Sometimes the food demands come at a furious clip,” Ferris says.

After natural deliveries, women often can eat right away. C-sections, however, require waiting several hours before eating because, as with any major surgery, one’s intestinal functions must first recover from the effects of anesthesia.

“I’ve pretty much heard it all,” says Ferris. “I’ve had patients demand McDonald’s, pizza, a Pepsi. Sometimes they can’t wait to have their first beer.”

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