Takeaway
- Beginning oral intake 6 hours after uncomplicated cesarean delivery (CD) does not affect gastrointestinal complaints and improves patient satisfaction.
Why this matters
- Prior studies have suggested benefits from early oral intake after uncomplicated CD.
Key results
- The intervention was associated with increased bowel sounds on the morning after surgery (87% vs 44.8%; P<.001) compared with controls.
- No differences in time to passing flatus or stool between groups.
- Increased maternal satisfaction with postoperative consumption (P=.049) and decreased hunger (P=.002) in the intervention group.
- No differences in nausea, vomiting, or bloating between groups.
Study design
- Single-blinded randomised controlled study.
- Patients undergoing uncomplicated elective CD with singleton pregnancy were asked to participate (n=148).
- Patients were randomly assigned to receive early (sips of water 6-8 hours after surgery, followed by soft and regular diet as tolerated) oral feeding (n=69) vs late (sips of water beginning at >12 hours after surgery) oral feeding (n=67).
- Primary outcome was return to bowel function as assessed by time to pass flatus, time to pass stool, and the presence of bowel sounds the morning after surgery.
- Funding: None disclosed.
Limitations
- Patients were all low-risk.
- Nurses could not be blinded to intervention.
References
References