What to drink during labour?

Hi,
I have heard of some ladies using sports type drinks for hydration during labour.

Has anyone got recommendations or opinions about this?

When in labour with DD I did drink water but had such a bag dehyration headache after she was born and would like to avoid that this time around.

I drank water and gatorade.

My Doula has given me a receipe for what she calls Labour Ade : it has lemon, calcium, manuka honey, and baking soda in it

Good luck Bekz :hug:! Can't wait to hear your happy news! :D

Mmm I drank nothing,lol

i had water and ice chips!

My midwives have suggested Gatorade...I'm also going to take some of those Glucodin glucose tablets in with me. I find they can make a huge difference to how I feel.

I drank copious amounts of lemonade :D

I planned to drink water and gatorade, but alas, Nicholas arrived before I bought the gatorade (and I wasn't stopping on the way to the hospy LOL). So I packed some Primas that I had in the cupboard and used those, which turned out great. I alternated the juice between enormous amounts of water though, and I REALLY think that helped me get through my labour well.

I drank water and had ice chips. I must not have had enough because as soon as she was born I had 3 glasses of juice and a 600ml bottle lemonade and more water. Labour is thirsty work. Best of luck.

I could only tolerate water and ice chips, anything else made me feel sick. Managed to have some juice after the birth though which helped get my sugar levels up! Good luck!

I sipped water & poweraide. I made poweraide slushys and put 2 poweraides in the freezer and took one out when labour started and the other out when we left for the hospital. I think that one took 3 hours to turn to a slushy so that was okay. I drank both poweraides & a litre of water during my labour & didn't feel dehydrated at all.

alternate between water and sports drink - shown to reduce incidences of keytones :)

water, water, water! But also, lemon lime & bitters because it wasn't too sweet. I can't cope with sweet stuff if I'm feeling at all nauseous. Good luck!

I drank Powerade but proceded to throw it all up once I arrived at hospital and had to have IV fluids due to dehydration. I figure next time round, I'll stick with water!

Having said I didnt drink anything.. I did pack primas & dh was getting stuck into cans of coke (gawd wouldnt want him to be thirsty,lol) and as soon as DD was born I asked (yes had to ask) for a glass of water!!

I drank heaps of water, had to be chilled!!

But i like wat u did Christy, good thinking!!

I had 2 sips of water, and a sip of gaterade. Lots of liquids is good as it means you have to go to the loo which helps keep you active for a more productive birth :)

I can't drink anything in labour as i tend to vomit but i remember having ice last time ,that was good.I had water after it was all over & then a while later after i'd had a shower & was waiting to go to the ward i slipped out while my mum ,brother & hubby were cuddling the baby & found the nearest vending machine & bought a lemonade & sat outside by myself in the cool night air & drank it,ahhh i enjoyed that:D

With Zyon I had low keytones & so they almost force fed me 4litres of apple juice & crackers! lol

I pee'd like a trooper the next 12 hours!

Thanks ladies for your suggestions. I will go and get a couple of sports drinks for my bag!!!!

I've bought 2 litres of powerade and a 6 pack of juice fruitboxes which i planned on alternating with water. My H thinks I need more powerade- surely I have enough?

I would think that's enough Ren, if you plan to alternate with water. At least you know the water won't run out!

Thanks Janie. He thinks I bought WAY too many snacks on the other hand (but then- I have to agree :lol:).

LOL ren, I didn't eat alot of my snacks, it was easier to sip on drinks through a straw, and have DH spoon feed me jelly! I did eat a bit early on though, so I think it's worth taking a few things. What you don't eat, your DH probably will!

With Mya i was in labour for almost 12 hours i think, i didnt snack on anything. Just wasnt hungry. I think i drank some water, but not heaps.
With Bodhi i was only in labour for like 2 hours, no time to snack lol & i think i may of had some ice.
I think 2litres of powerade & a 6 pack of poppers will be plenty enough haha!

vodka... lots of vodka

(kidding, btw, it was really water and bucket loads of ice-chips)

In my defense for my over prepared-ness I figure all drinks and snacks will also be handy for my support team and for me after birth and in the weeks following... :lol:

That's true Ren, but don't be surprised if you do drink it all. I drank four primas, and 2-3 litres of water. My energy levels were really good during my labour, and I think alot of that was due to keeping up my fluid and sugar intake.

Yeah, I'm with you Suga, they're yuck. I planned on taking some anyway, but as DS came early I never had the chance to buy them, so was stuck with water and juice. They worked fine though!

The red powerade!

with ds i think i had some water earlier on but then the mw suggested lemonade when I felt a little hungry and thought juice might be good, she said itd more than likely make me sick. It was good and I'll probably do the same again this time but I'm also thinking I'll try and remember to pack some red powerade... as long as I can keep dh from drinking it before hand that is:lol:

During labour I drank lots of water. I had juice boxes packed in my bag both times, but since I ended up giving birth at home both times, I never used anything from my labour bag!

But it was nice to have juice on hand in the ward. With Brandon, I drank them in the middle of the night or between meals, when I couldn't get any, and with Anna, Brandon drank them all when he came to visit us!

I barely had anything at all!
I had gatorade powder in my labour bag but it never made it out and i dont know if i even made it through one jug, though with all the delirium i couldn't be sure...
The hospy also made up a cordial like drink for me which i assume was a bit like a gatorade.

I drank water. But by the time I got to push I was bringing up a little water with every push. Same muscles were pushing down and up, I think. I can't bear to even contemplate the horror of puking up gatorade or juice (ew, acidic puke) with every push so I'm glad I stuck to water.

The only thing I ate was a muesli bar at 2.30 - I woke up with regular contractions and I was starving. I ate one and half muesli bars then promptly puked them back up. But they were good while they stayed down :lol:

i had ice chips, water and powerade..

powerade was good too for a quick sugar boost when my energy levels were low.

I'm a big fan of drinking, eating, moving and peeing your way through labour! I've noticed that women who are drinking Labour Ade trhoughout labout seem to cope better and avoid that yucky exhausted feeling of "I just can't do this anymore." When your electrolytes get messed up or you get dehydrated, this can make you feel weak, dizzy, yucky, nauseous, irritable, and it can lead to exhaustion for the mother and even to foetal distress. So I offer my clients a sip of labour ade through a bendy straw after nearly every contraction. That means lots of pee and peeing regularly, at least once every hour, is another way to keep things progressing and avoid complications. A full bladder can cause painful cramps and can inhibit deep relaxation in your pelvis and therefore possibility inhibit the descent of the baby.

Here are my favourites for labour drink:
1. Super-strong dose of Raspberry Leaf Tea , with honey and lemon to make it palatable

2. Nan Koehler's Birthing Tea: RLT, lavendar, basil and grated nutmeg. Yum, yum.

3. Home made Labour Ade - lovely chilled from the freezer. Lemon juice, water, manuka honey, baking soda, a pinch of sea salt and 1-2 calcium tablets (dissolveable). Add glucose or more honey to make it sweet enough so you like it. You gotta like it or you won't be into it when it counts.

I also have tried this stuff called Innergize which is produced by Reliv, - so if you have a Reliv distributor in your area give it a try. It's an electrolyte drink to "assist in the preformance of sustained strenuous exercise" - yep, I think labour fits into that category! It has magnesium and potassium as well as calcium and replaceds these electrolytes that are easily lost through sweat and exertion, leaving your electrolytes out of kilter so you feel icky. It has no additives and chemical sweetners unlike other sports drinks. I always take some with me when I attend births.

Grapes and cubes of rock-melon seem to be favourites for snacking on during labour when you don't much feel hungry and want something that goes down easily. I like cherries and berries too.