You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Midwifery
Systematic review with meta-analysis
Chewing gum after caesarean section stimulates the gastrointestinal system
  1. Laurentiu Craciunas
  1. Clinical Academic Office, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
  1. Correspondence to : Dr Laurentiu Craciunas, Clinical Academic Office, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK; lcraciunas{at}doctors.org.uk

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/eb-2015-102159

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Commentary on: Hochner H, Tenfelde SM, Abu Ahmad W, et al. Gum chewing and gastrointestinal function following caesarean delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Nurs 2015;24:1795–804.OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed

    Implications for practice and research

    • Women who chew gum for 30–60 min at least three times a day will have a quicker return of bowel function as quantified by the time to first flatus, time to first bowel sounds, time to first bowel movement and the incidence of postoperative ileus after delivery by caesarean section.

    • Several meta-analyses have now highlighted the beneficial effect of chewing gum following caesarean section, therefore the recommendation for chewing should be included in postcaesarean section clinical guidelines.

    Context

    Abdominal surgery, including caesarean section, is associated with impairment of the gastrointestinal function. This …

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Twitter Follow Laurentiu Craciunas at @laurcraciunas

    • Competing interests None declared.

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Copyright information:

    Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/