215 posters, 5 topics, 22 sessions, 596 authors, 283 institutions
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Obstetric Anaesthesia Annual Scientific Meeting 2025
May 15 - 16, 2025 | ICC, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast BT1 3WH
6781232
Title: Oral intake in labour: finding the balance between safety and comfort
Poster Presenter
Part of Topic
Quality Improvement
Title: Oral intake in labour: findng the balance between comfort and safety
Introduction
- Traditionally, oral intake during labour was restricted due to aspiration risk under general anaesthesia, worsened by delayed gastric emptying in labour.
- However, the majority of obstetric anesthesia is now provided via regional techniques and available evidence shows that less restrictive approaches to oral intake in labour do not increase the risk of aspiration or adverse outcomes
- Furthermore, evidence has shown that overly restricting intake can negatively impact patient experience without improving safety[1]
- A balanced, risk-aware approach is now recommended, and current NICE guidance allows clear fluids and light diet unless a woman has received opioids or she develops risk factors that make caesarean delivery more likely [2]
- We currently do not have any local guidelines or recommendations to reflect this evidence-based guidance
- We performed an audit of the eating and drinking practices on labour ward with a view to developing clear and safe consensus-based guidance to support triage decisions, facilitate communication between the multi-disciplinary team, and improve patient satisfaction during labour