Systematic review of the effect of early feeding after cesarean section on gastrointestinal function recovery

Objective To investigate the correlation between early postoperative diet and gastrointestinal function recovery after cesarean section. Methods A computerized search was performed through The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP database for randomized controlled trails (RCTs) which studied the effects of early feeding after cesarean section on gastrointestinal function recovery. The analysis was performed after searching databases, assessing quality of included studies and extracting data using RevMan5.3. Results Totally 8 RCTs involving 1 474 patients were included. It showed that early eating could shorten the recovery time of bowel sounds, the time of passage of flatus, the time of first defecation (P 0.05). Conclusion Early eating after cesarean section can shorten the recovery time of gastrointestinal function, but it does not show advantages in improving the incidence of nausea and vomiting and abdominal distention. It is necessary to carry out in-depth study to verify. Key words: Cesarean section; Early feeding; Gastrointestinal function; Randomized controlled trial; Systematic review