Cochrane · systematic review · CD011625
Interventions for preventing postpartum constipation
Turawa, EB, Musekiwa, A, Rohwer, AC · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2020 · Cochrane Library
Pregnancy and ChildbirthAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
17
current version
GRADE rated
11
No studies
6
Included studies
NR
No studies 6 · 35.3%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 7 · 41.2%Low 4 · 23.5%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Laxative compared to placebo for preventing postpartum constipation
Population: women in the postpartum period
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Pain or straining on defecation Laxative vs placebo | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Incidence of postpartum constipation Laxative vs placebo | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Quality of life Laxative vs placebo | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Time to first bowel movement (BM) (№ women with 1st BM less than 24 hours after delivery) Laxative vs placebo | RR 2.9 [2.24, 3.75] | 1 study · 471 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Time to first BM (№ women with 1st BM on day 1 after delivery) Laxative vs placebo | RR 0.94 [0.72, 1.22] | 1 study · 471 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Time to first BM (№ women with 1st BM on day 2 after delivery) Laxative vs placebo | RR 0.23 [0.11, 0.45] | 1 study · 471 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Time to first BM (№ women with 1st BM on day 3 after delivery) Laxative vs placebo | RR 0.05 [0, 0.89] | 1 study · 471 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Time to first BM (№ women with 1st BM on day 4 after delivery) Laxative vs placebo | RR 0.22 [0.03, 1.87] | 1 study · 471 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Adverse effects on women: abdominal cramps Laxative vs placebo | RR 4.23 [1.75, 10.19] | 1 study · 471 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Adverse effects on babies: loose stools Laxative vs placebo | RR 0.62 [0.16, 2.41] | 1 study · 281 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Adverse effects on babies: diarrhoea Laxative vs placebo | RR 2.46 [0.23, 26.82] | 1 study · 281 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Laxative plus bulking agent compared to laxative alone for preventing postpartum constipation
Population: postpartum women who underwent surgical repair of third degree perineal tears
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Pain or straining on defecation (Likert‐scale from 1 to 5; 1 = no pain; 5 = worst pain) Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 147 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, indirectness |
Incidence of postpartum constipation Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Quality of life Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Time to first bowel movement Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 147 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, indirectness |
Adverse effects on women: faecal incontinence during first 10 postpartum days Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | RR 1.81 [1.01, 3.23] | 1 study · 147 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, indirectness |
Adverse effects on babies Laxative plus bulking agent vs laxative alone | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |