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I think I was allowed to, but there was no way I was going to.

I ate dinner on Friday evening and didn't eat again until Sunday morning. I just couldn't with everything going on.

No, I went in at 1 am though and LO was born at 2 pm. I wasn't hungry.

I was only allowed to eat ice chips. Admitted at midnight and LO arrived in the afternoon. I was hungry.

My hospital's rule was no food/water in labor with the exception of popsicles. I was only there for 2.5 hours before DD was born though so I didn't really need anything.

Yep! Our midwives made sure I was eating to keep up my strength. I had peanut butter toast and granola bars during my first labour, and a giant Jugo Juice smoothie during the second.

With my first I was in labor all night and was too sleepy to eat a proper breakfast at home. Once we got to the hospital and the adrenaline kicked in, I realized I'm pretty hungry. DH was sneaking me cookies when the nurse wasn't looking. Thankfully the second time I slept much better before DD was born, so I tanked up on breakfast before heading to the hospital and didn't need to worry about breaking the rules.

@Shantuck: no they dont use general anesthesia except in rare cases, but it isnt an epidural either, it is a spinal which is similar to an epidural but is placed in differently and is usually mixed in with something like morphine. The combination increases the chances of nausea etc
so in my case i was awake for both c-sections, they told me though that if the need arose they would put me under completely

I ate regularly throughout my induction. I had dinner right when it started, then regular snacks (I could have brought other snacks, but my room was stocked with graham crackers and juice).

I had a c-section with spinal anesthesia just before 4 am and was ready for breakfast by 8 am. I had to get the "no food" order removed before they would bring me anything, but as soon as I mentioned it they took care of it for me.

I did have trouble with nausea afterwards due to the pain medications, but I found it was better if I kept something in my stomach.

I was definitely allowed water and I think the nurse said I only couldn't eat if I got the epidural. I was only in labor at the hospital a few minutes with LO2 and a few hours with LO3 and food was the last thing on my mind. I do think DH ordered dinner and they saved it for us this last time.
I was induced with LO1 but I don't remember much about if and when I ate except I was so hungry afterwards and the kitchen was closed.

My induction took about 36 hours, so i really needed to eat!! I ate lunch and dinner on the first day, but didn't eat much bc I was really uncomfortable. Though my nurse was quick and generous with the zofran so I was able to eat enough. By Friday morning, I knew we were heading to an epidural because we were expecting pitocin. My doula brought me a bagel and juice and made sure I ate all of it and I am SO thankful! After the epidural, I couldn't eat anything (though we had food in our room so I could have snuck something). They brought me a couple of broth/justice/ensure trays that I could have had and I think I ended up drinking one of the ensures and most of the juice. I wasn't really interested in food at that point, I slept for a couple of hours after the epi and then M arrived at 12:30. I drank a lot of sprite while I was laboring down and pushing and I think the sugar helped keep my energy up. We got to our postpartum room at around 4 am and I was starving!!! Our sweet nurse brought me milk and a bunch of graham crackers and then breakfast came about 6. I would definitely eat if/when you can before the epi. I would also recommend eating something (get the zofran if you need) before the epi!

I thought I'd want to eat during labor but I was so nauseous I couldn't keep anything down. We drove to the hospital at 3am and on the way there I ate a banana as our last meal had been dinner and I wanted something in me. While in the OB triage I tried to eat a granola bar and immediately felt nauseous. I couldn't keep anything down after that-no water, Gatorade, sport chews, or the chicken broth they brought me. It all came back up. While pushing I was starving but I couldn't eat at that point! All I wanted was pizza but she wasn't born until 10:29 pm and everything was closed. My first post baby meal was a sad bowl of Cheerios the nurses brought me. So depressing.

At the first facility, drinking and light eating were encouraged.
I remember eating a sandwich and crackers.

At the second facility, it was technically against policy, but the nurses said, "We can't stop you!" (wink,wink). I ate a cereal bar; I would have eaten more if anything had been available in the middle of the night.

And, of course, the nurses are right. Hospitals make these policies to cover their asses, but ultimately it is your body and your decision.

Studies in the UK and Canada do not show an increased risk in women who eat light meals in labor. There are no American studies on the topic because changes in policy are so recent here.