Role of Gum Chewing in Post-operative Gut Motility After Cesarean Section

Dr Maryam Aslam

Status

Completed

Conditions

Cesarean Section

Gut Motility

Gum Chewing

Treatments

Other: Nil Per Oral

Dietary Supplement: Sugar free chew gum

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06952985

275

Details and patient eligibility

About

Many women deliver by caesarean section nowadays. The proportion of women who deliver by caesarean section ranges from 15% to over 50%, in some countries. After a caesarean section it is common for the bowel to stop working for several hours or days. Although this usually resolves by itself in a few days, it may be very uncomfortable. The retained gases and stools can cause the mother's belly to become swollen and painful with cramps and she may feel nauseated and vomit so she is not able to eat. She may need additional medications to ease these symptoms and her hospital discharge may be delayed. The use of medications that relieve pain during labour and painkillers following the surgery can also delay bowel function. Small intestine activity after abdominal operations returns to normal function within a few hours, gastric activity returns to normal within 24-48 hours, and colon activity returns to normal within 48-72 hours. Due to the delayed motility of the gastrointestinal system in the postoperative period, gas and secretions accumulate in the stomach and small and large intestines, which causes abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, and pain, all of which negatively affect the comfort level of the patients. Chewing sugar-free gum after cesarean section can promote the early recovery of gastrointestinal function, but the side effects of chewing gum are still unclear, which needs more clinical, large sample and high-quality studies to further verify.

Enrollment

60 patients

Sex

Female

Ages

18 to 40 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Females of age 18-40 years
Parity <5
Presenting at gestational age ≥ 37 weeks,
Undergoing cesarean section (as per operational definition) under spinal anesthesia

Exclusion criteria

Females with history of chronic constipation (medical record)
Females with obstructed labour, hypothyroidism (TSH>5IU)
Females with intra operative complications such as bowel injury, history of gastrointestinal surgery, and water and electrolyte disturbances (on medical record), abnormal placenta (accrete, increta, previa, abruption)