Cochrane Data: Food, Water in Labor OK in Low-Risk Women

Major Finding: In women at low risk of needing general anesthesia during childbirth, there was no significant association with eating and drinking during labor and the rate of cesarean section, operative vaginal birth, or Apgar scores of less than 7 at 5 minutes.

Data Source: A Cochrane database review of five randomized controlled trials comprising 3,130 women.

Disclosures: The review was sponsored by the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Liverpool, as well as the National Institute for Health Research, and by a World Health Organization grant. One of the authors was the primary investigator on a study included in the review.