I briefly touched on chewing gum in another recent post, but I’ve been getting so many messages about it I wanted to follow up.
Yes, gum can help you right after a c-section delivery. It helps your mouth create more saliva. And this tells your bowels, hey, get moving!
But there’s a little more to releasing trapped gas than that. I have some additional tips that will make gum your new secret weapon to get you farting up a storm.
Here’s the science in case you missed it…
This study from 2017 acknowledges that chewing gums several times a day for 30 minutes at a time is enough to kick the bowels back into their regular functions.
All told, they found that c-section moms who chewed the gum farted 6.5 hours earlier than those who didn’t.
Can any gum do the trick?
And now, I’d like to tell you that certain gum types may be better for stimulating bowel motility. In particular sugar-free gum that is sweetened with sugar alcohols are the best. That means xylitol and sorbitol, so look for those on the ingredients.
These ferment thanks to gut bacteria. And they make more gas for you to fart out.
They can also pull water into your intestines, creating a nice laxative effect. Maybe try this while you’re near your bathroom at home. Not that you’ll poop your pants, but you may not want to be out on a walk pushing the baby in a stroller in the park or at some public venue when this goes down, is all I’m saying.
Yes, this is safe. And it’s easy to get those farts out (and poops) after your c-section.
Just warning you that it really does hurt to poop after your c-section. Good Lord.
There were just a few instances for other abdominal surgeries, though, marking that gum could make things more complicated, though this is not the case for c-sections.
So, grab your gum with sorbitol or xylitol and stuff it in your hospital bag. And hopefully, you’ll be passing gas in a mere 23 hours after your surgery!
Leslie Berry lives with her husband and two young daughters in Los Altos, California, where she loves helping other moms get comfortable with motherhood and embracing the insanity with facts peppered with laughs.
She loves eating too much sushi, exercising, and jamming out on her Fender. Read more about Leslie here.
