Giving birth via c-section takes a huge toll on a new mum’s body, so anything that can help get us feel human again is a bonus. And this handy tip from a gastroenterologist is super easy to do, and you’ll be thanking your lucky stars you knew about it!

Dr Zion Ko Lamm, who recently gave birth via c-section, says her gastroenterologist husband taught her this tip, to help keep everything regular after the surgery.

She shared the tip on social media, saying chewing gum can help prevent post-surgery constipation or ileus. She says to start chewing gum two hours after your c-section and then during the day, chew it for 30 minutes every couple of hours.

She explained in her comments, “I could argue the C-section has been romanticised in this era of social media, but having just had one, I can assure you it’s a legit abdominal surgery. One adverse effect from abdominal surgery we all worry about is severe constipation/ileus. As someone who already has baseline issues battling with constipation on a daily basis, I went to my hubby to ask if there was anything I could do.

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“The first thing my husband did when I came out of my c-section (after the skin-skin and breastfeeding obvi), was hand me a piece of gum to chew.

“Interestingly, there’s significant data regarding chewing gum improving outcomes in the postoperative period, whether C-section or colorectal surgery (thought to help through cephalo-vagal stimulation). Specifically for my case, there is a RCT from 2020 that studies 372 mothers after c-section.

“The gum chewing arm had patients chew sugar-free gum 2 hrs after recovery for 30 minutes every 2 hours during the daytime. Results: the gum chewing group had significantly improved intestinal recovery with faster onset of bowel movement, intestinal sounds, passage of flatus and passage of stool (p = 0.0001). It was even associated with shorter duration of hospital stay and IV therapy (p = 0.0001).”

Why does chewing gum after a c-section help with bowel movements?

Basically, chewing gum mimics eating food, without actually eating food. So your digestive system doesn’t have to do any work to digest food. But chewing stimulates saliva production, so you’re less likely to get dry mouth and it can send a message to your bowels to wake up and get moving!

Of course, you do need to eat after your c-section, but you may not feel like it for a little while, so chewing gum may help keep you regular.

A study published in 2017 suggested chewing gum three times a day for 30 minutes each time could help bring back normal gut function. So what’s normal gut function? The studies into gum chewing after c-sections all focused on one thing – chewing gum until the mum passes wind. Because THAT is a signal that there aren’t any blockages and things are starting to move!

Is this something you did after a c-section, or do you have any other post-c-section tips? Let us know in the comments below.