| Methods |
Women randomised into three groups, method of randomisation not stated. |
| Participants |
40 women recruited from routine antenatal clinics in the third trimester of pregnancy. Women recruited in last trimester from antenatal clinics in Cambridge, UK. |
| Interventions |
Women in two intervention groups given 10gm dietary supplement per day, either in the form of corn‐based biscuits (proprietary product 'Fibermed') or as 23g wheat bran. Control group given nothing (ie not a placebo group), all for two weeks. |
| Outcomes |
Increase in stool frequency over two weeks of treatment. |
| Notes |
Energy and fibre intake were carefully monitored throughout the study. There were no differences in outcomes between the two treatment groups. This is unsurprising since the two treatments are different forms of fibre (ie the same type of laxative). For these reasons the two treatment groups have been combined in the meta‐analysis. |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
B ‐ Unclear |
