Comparison of the effect of early post-cesarean feeding and routine post-cesarean feeding on gastrointestinal function in women admitted to Shohada hospital in 2011-2012

Although it is shown that early post-cesarean feeding has some benefits, there was lack of studies in this field. ¡The aim of this study was to compare the effect of early post-cesarean feeding and routine post-cesarean feeding on gastrointestinal function in women.
This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 160 women admitted to Shohada hospital who underwent cesarean section in 2011-2012. The inclusion criteria was gestational age > 37weeks, singleton pregnancy, 8 hours fasting, and regional anesthesia. After recording demographic and pregnancy characteristics, women divided randomly to two groups: early feeding (250 cc clear fruit juice, 2 hours after operation light regimen of tea and biscuit in the second 2 hours and routine regimen after that) and routine feeding (clear fluid 8 hours after operation and routine regimen in the day after surgery). Presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in 2, 4, 8 and 12 hours after surgery, time to the bowel sounds auscultation, passage of flatus and stool were recorded.
In early feeding group prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, feeling of flatulence and abdominal cramp) was significantly higher 2 and 4 hours after operation while it was higher in routine group 8 hours after surgery (P0.05).
Early feeding post-cesarean caused earlier gastrointestinal symptoms which were time, the bowel sounds auscultation and passage of flatus. So, it is recommended to advise various regimens in future studies and also assess patients’ compliance and satisfaction.