Is eating and drinking in labor safe?  Much of our current research actually shows it is.  How women are hydrated during labor is one of the differences you will see between the medical model of care and the midwifery model of care.

Links to research on eating and drinking during labor:

Eating and Drinking in Labor-improvingbirth.org

Most healthy women would benefit from light meal during labor-American Society of Anesthesiologists

Food and Drink During Labor-evidencebasedbirth.com

Eating and drinking in labor-cochrane review

Additional content you may be interested in:

blog post: Harm vs benefits of obstetric interventions

handout: Midwifery model of care vs medical model of care