Gastrointestinal System - Postoperative Feeding
Recommendations and Evidence
1. Postoperative Oral Feeding Guidelines
Recommendation
Timing of Oral Feeding
Compared to traditional feeding practices (delaying feeding until bowel function returns), early oral feeding (within the first 24 hours), as tolerated, may lead to improvements in some outcome measures post-surgery:
Compared to traditional feeding practices (delaying feeding until bowel function returns), early oral feeding (within the first 24 hours), as tolerated, may lead to improvements in some outcome measures post-surgery:
- caesarean delivery - reduced time to return of bowel sounds and length of stay (LOS)
- gynecologic surgery - reduced LOS, recovery time to bowel