Study Shakes Up Treatment of Women in Labor
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Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(MORGANTOWN, W. Va.) — Women going through labor are usually limited to sucking on ice chips in order to help relieve their discomfort.
But if health professionals really wanted to help out mothers-to-be, they’d let them drink a chocolate or vanilla protein shake instead.
While this seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom that women under general anesthesia should avoid food and beverages, a research team at the West Virginia University School of Medicine maintains, “Physicians should feel comfortable replacing ice chips or water with a high-protein drink supplement.”
To prove their point, they gave one group of pregnant women a high-protein shake while the other was only allowed ice chips. The results were that the frequency of nausea and vomiting were the same, meaning that the shakes weren’t a bigger danger.
Dr. Manuel C. Vallejo, who was part of the study, added, “Doctors should feel comfortable, at least, replacing ice chips and water with high-protein shakes to increase patient satisfaction.”
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