Chewing gum after C-section may speed recovery
Chewing on some sugarless gum may help new moms recover normal bowel function and shorten hospital stay after a caesarean section (C-section) delivery.
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Chewing on some sugarless gum may help new moms recover normal bowel function and shorten hospital stay after a caesarean section (C-section) delivery.
As with any abdominal surgery, intestinal function can become sluggish for a time after a C-section, leading to gas and constipation. Gum may help because the act of chewing sets off a nervous system response and release of digestive hormones that stimulates bowel activity. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of chewing gum on the recovery of bowel motility after caesarean section, researchers from Cario identified 200 pregnant women who delivered by elective caesarean section under general anaesthesia.
About half were randomly assigned to start chewing sugarless gum two hours after the procedure, while the rest were given standard care only, which included getting out of bed and walking around to encourage the intestines to get moving again. Women in the gum group were told to chew one stick for 15 minutes every two hours.
It was found that women in the chewing-gum group were quicker to regain normal bowel activity. On an average, they had their first bowel movement 21 hours after the C-section, versus 30 hours in the standard-care group. They also went home from the hospital sooner - about 41 hours after delivery, on an average, compared with 50 hours in the other group.
The above findings indicate that chewing gum as a safe and inexpensive way of restoring bowel functions after C-section. However, what remains unclear is whether chewing gum could be as useful if women receive regional, rather than general, anesthesia during C- section. Regional anesthesia, which includes epidurals and spinal blocks, may interfere with the nervous system activation by which chewing is thought to boost bowel activity.
More studies are needed to test the effects of gum chewing in women having an epidural or spinal anaesthesia.
As with any abdominal surgery, intestinal function can become sluggish for a time after a C-section, leading to gas and constipation. Gum may help because the act of chewing sets off a nervous system response and release of digestive hormones that stimulates bowel activity. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of chewing gum on the recovery of bowel motility after caesarean section, researchers from Cario identified 200 pregnant women who delivered by elective caesarean section under general anaesthesia.
About half were randomly assigned to start chewing sugarless gum two hours after the procedure, while the rest were given standard care only, which included getting out of bed and walking around to encourage the intestines to get moving again. Women in the gum group were told to chew one stick for 15 minutes every two hours.
It was found that women in the chewing-gum group were quicker to regain normal bowel activity. On an average, they had their first bowel movement 21 hours after the C-section, versus 30 hours in the standard-care group. They also went home from the hospital sooner - about 41 hours after delivery, on an average, compared with 50 hours in the other group.
The above findings indicate that chewing gum as a safe and inexpensive way of restoring bowel functions after C-section. However, what remains unclear is whether chewing gum could be as useful if women receive regional, rather than general, anesthesia during C- section. Regional anesthesia, which includes epidurals and spinal blocks, may interfere with the nervous system activation by which chewing is thought to boost bowel activity.
More studies are needed to test the effects of gum chewing in women having an epidural or spinal anaesthesia.
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