Effect of Coffee Consumption on Pain and Intestinal Motility After Caesarean Section:

Effect of Coffee Consumption on Postoperative Pain and Intestinal Motility After Caesarean Section: Randomized Controlled Study

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether postoperative coffee intake affects pain levels and bowel motility in women undergoing cesarean delivery.

Design: It will be conducted as a randomized controlled experimental study. Method: It is a randomized controlled experimental study: This randomized controlled clinical trial will be conducted between May and December 2024 in accordance with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials. A total of 60 women will be randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=30) or the control group (n=30). Participants in the intervention group will receive 100 mg caffeine in coffee at 6 and 12 hours after surgery in addition to routine postoperative care. The control group will receive only routine postoperative care. Pain will be assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and bowel activity will be monitored by time to first defecation, gas passage and bowel sounds.

Keywords: Caesarean section, Coffee, Pain, Motility

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cesarean Section; Operation
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: coffee consumption; Other: control group

Detailed Description

Cesarean section is one of the most common surgical operations in obstetrics and gynecology. While the caesarean section rate is 25-40% in developed countries such as the United States, Ireland, England and China, this rate is 48% in Turkey. For this reason, post-cesarean pain and delayed bowel motility are among the common problems due to the surgical intervention. Post-cesarean pain can delay return to normal daily activities and negatively affect the mother's psychological health, breastfeeding, and mother-infant bonding. In addition to pain, delayed bowel motility due to changes in the autonomic nervous system is among the most common problems experienced after cesarean section. Appropriate health care provided by medical personnel during the postpartum period can enable the woman to be discharged early. Therefore, non-invasive, low-cost and uncomplicated methods should be preferred to reduce pain in the postoperative period and ensure the first spontaneous passing of gas and early defecation. In the literature review, although there is no study determining the effect of drinking coffee on pain in the postoperative period, there are studies stating that coffee can contribute to early GI motility in the postoperative period after abdominal surgery and shorten the time for passing gas, defecation and discharge. Therefore, this research will be conducted as a randomized controlled experimental study with the aim of minimizing the problems that the mother and the newborn may experience in the postpartum period by eliminating the negative symptoms related to postpartum pain and delayed intestinal motility.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 57
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Karatay
    • Konya, Karatay, Turkey, 42000
      • KTO Karatay Unıversty

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• had a cesarean delivery with spinal anesthesia,
• had a postoperative pain level of 4 or higher,
• could read and write Turkish,
• could communicate effectively with the researchers.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those who underwent emergency cesarean section,
• Those with pregnancy complications (e.g., preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placenta previa),
• Those with a history of chronic gastrointestinal disease (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis),
• Those with caffeine sensitivity or allergy,
• Those with chronic pain syndrome or analgesic dependence,
• Those who regularly consume coffee (≥2 cups per day),
• Those who experienced intraoperative complications (e.g., bowel or bladder injury),
• Those who could not comply with the study protocol.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: caffeine group; Participants in the intervention group will receive 100 mg caffeine in coffee at 6 and 12 hours after surgery in addition to routine postoperative care. The control group will receive only routine postoperative care. Pain will be assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and bowel activity will be monitored by time to first defecation, gas passage and bowel sounds.	Dietary supplement: coffee consumption; After cesarean section, patients will be allowed to drink coffee.
Active Comparator: control group; The control group will receive only routine postoperative care. Pain will be assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and bowel activity will be monitored by time to first defecation, gas passage and bowel sounds.	Other: control group; Patients will undergo a routine surgical procedure.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative Pain	The visual analog scale (VAS ) is a scale with different names at both ends on a 10 cm long vertical or horizon line. In this study, evaluation was made as "0 = no pain" and "10 = the most severe pain".	6 hour
intestinal motility	24 hour. The patient's bowel sounds will be listened to during the hours	24 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: TC Erciyes University
• Collaborators: KTO Karatay University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: HÜMEYRA YÜKSEL, Phd, KTO Karatay University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

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• Zamanabadi MN, Alizadeh R, Gholami F, Seyed Mehdi SA, Aryafar M. Effect of caffeine on postoperative bowel movement and defecation after cesarean section. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2021 Aug 6;68:102674. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2021.102674. eCollection 2021 Aug.
• Abadi F, Shahabinejad M, Abadi F, Kazemi M. Effect of Acupressure on Symptoms of Postoperative Ileus After Cesarean Section. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2017 Apr;10(2):114-119. doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2016.11.008. Epub 2016 Dec 27.
• Goymen, A., Simsek, Y., Ozkaplan, S. E., Ozdurak, H. I., Akpak, Y. K., Semiz, A., & Oral, S. (2017). Effect of gum chewing and coffee consumption on intestinal motility in caesarean sections.
• Tian YT. 2017. China is not"The World's First Cesarean Section Rate".Beijing: Guangming Daily.
• Curran EA, Khashan AS, Dalman C, Kenny LC, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Kearney PM. Obstetric mode of delivery and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a sibling-matched study. Int J Epidemiol. 2016 Apr;45(2):532-42. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw001. Epub 2016 Apr 10.
• Khadem N, Khadivzadeh T. The intelligence quotient of school aged children delivered by cesarean section and vaginal delivery. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2010 Summer;15(3):135-40.
• Souza JP, Betran AP, Dumont A, de Mucio B, Gibbs Pickens CM, Deneux-Tharaux C, Ortiz-Panozo E, Sullivan E, Ota E, Togoobaatar G, Carroli G, Knight H, Zhang J, Cecatti JG, Vogel JP, Jayaratne K, Leal MC, Gissler M, Morisaki N, Lack N, Oladapo OT, Tuncalp O, Lumbiganon P, Mori R, Quintana S, Costa Passos AD, Marcolin AC, Zongo A, Blondel B, Hernandez B, Hogue CJ, Prunet C, Landman C, Ochir C, Cuesta C, Pileggi-Castro C, Walker D, Alves D, Abalos E, Moises E, Vieira EM, Duarte G, Perdona G, Gurol-Urganci I, Takahiko K, Moscovici L, Campodonico L, Oliveira-Ciabati L, Laopaiboon M, Danansuriya M, Nakamura-Pereira M, Costa ML, Torloni MR, Kramer MR, Borges P, Olkhanud PB, Perez-Cuevas R, Agampodi SB, Mittal S, Serruya S, Bataglia V, Li Z, Temmerman M, Gulmezoglu AM. A global reference for caesarean section rates (C-Model): a multicountry cross-sectional study. BJOG. 2016 Feb;123(3):427-36. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13509. Epub 2015 Aug 10.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 20, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 1, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): April 11, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 14, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 9, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pain; Caesarean Section; Coffee; Motility
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2400602

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The data of the study can be shared by researchers with permission.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No