3 weeks since I had mine and I want to know what is going on down there in my abdomen. Can someone tell me what happens with this surgery (besides the obvious!) and if i should still feel tender now? Scar is healing well but my belly area feels so odd!

They've cut through lots of tissue and you'll have plenty of bruising. I've had three of the buggers!! It will go but it will take at least 6 weeks and now 20 months on I still have areas which have no feeling.

I'd second what PosieParker says - it will feel odd for quite a while but go in the end. I could still feel mine pulling occasionally (e.g. when hoiking pram up kerbs) for a good 6 months. Still have some residual numbness after 6 years.

The fact that DD was 9lb 12oz and I am 5'3 and 9.5 stones doesnt help I suppose! I find her quite heavy to carry around and would like to put her in a sling but she is in a Pavlik harness so i dont know if thats wise.

Still have some numbness around the scar, extending upwards to my tummy rather than downwards towards my bits thank gawd.

I still cant do sit-ups, as I have adhesions on my bowel (I think)which make it painful for me to move in that way.

DS was 6 this month

HTH

I've had 2, it will take a long time before thing feel anything like normal but it will get better.

Boys - were adhesions on bowel caused by the EMCS??
And how long before you were able to get jiggy again?
Bruising, numbness...So much for C-sections leaving your bits intact...

I was jiggy after 4 weeks the first time, 8 the second and 3 months the third because my darling little dd never slept and screamed all of the time!!

Yes, the scarring internally was the result of the crash section. If I twist quickly, then I can feel it pulling on the right hand side of my tummy, low down.

Small price to pay for a live baby.

His heart rate went down 140 to 60 then 40 in about 5 minutes so all went a bit scary eek

Jiggy at 2 months, was anxious to re start that side of things

Feeding was tricky at first, had to rugby hold the baby for about 3 months, perfected feeding lying down too.

Had a lot of help from my mum, she was able to come and entertain DS1 for the first few months.

Congrats, btw

I've had ELCS's with my last two and both times took a good few weeks til i could feel it again.
11 days in this time and I still get horrid smarting pains if I stand too long or when I roll over in bed.
Did the surgeon not explain to you that the numbness in your tummy would last a while?
On the sex side of things we've done it already
But then this was my third section (1st was EMCS) so I know I'm not going to split in two no matter how scary it is!

Dont feel things were really explained that well, no, but like Boys the heart rate plummeted so i was just glad to have her safe and well.
Actually it all happened so fast they nicked her cheek with the scalpel whilst cutting me open, she is a little scarface.
They were full of apologies but we weren't angry, too relieved that all went ok. Not that I minded ANYTHING with the morphine etc!

DS was an ELCS, not in labour or anything and his head was nicke too, it's quite common from what I can gather.
Have the midwives discharged you yet?You can ask either your mw/hv or doctor for more info and they can tell you what is 'normal' wrt feeling coming back etc after the CS. You could probably even call the maternity unit and have someone explain, normally the surgeon comes round the next day and explains things but as you said sometimes the cocktail of drugs makes it easy to just nod and agree!

Bearmama - it takes at least two months for the muscles to reknit properly so you will feel a bit weird for a while yet I'm afraid.

Oh and then you will feel better and do something daft (with me it was digging the garden) and tear everything again (and you feel a total nit having to return to hospital with a two month old to say 'umm do you think you could have a look because it feels like my insides are hanging out'

I had a section in 2001 and it resutured in 2002 and today it has been a bit tender and pulling.

Mine c-sections were almost 9 and 7 1/2 years ago now, and I only recently lost the band of numbness/pins and needles above the scar that I got second time around. The second one was more "emergency" and the operation gets more complicated after the first time (because of the scar tissue). Never had any problems with my pelvic floor etc, but that may be because I didn't labour too long. My scar can still be painful when I sneeze or pull on my tummy unexpectedly.

I had lots of adhesion & numbness following my emergency section. The elective was much better, the consultant spent a long time clearing up the damage & resected the old scar - I have much more feeling now.

Seeing HV on Mon so will ask then. The surgeon was more about making sure I knew what had happened and was ok with it.

Thanks everyone, have more realistic idea of what to expect now.

bearmama - what kind of sling did you want to use, and have you come across www.thebabywearer.com? I've just done a quick search on the forum (you need to join before you can access it, but they don't spam), and there's a few women there that have worn their babies while the baby wore a pavlik harness. Other women showed their Dr's their wrap slings (which, depending on the carry, can carry the baby in the same position) and have been told they don't need to use the harness if the baby is in the sling. Have a look at this thread for a couple of links.

Good luck - hope DD is out of the harness soon

like posieparker I have had three and you doo feel 'different' after each one. They sewed me up 'weird this time I reckon

Jiggy after about two weeks but found very...er... gentle posistion.

I still can;t lie on my side without pain- any ideas why?

I found general stuff began to get much better after around 4week but don't push it cos you feel better.

initially swelling,bruising+++ and some tenderness to touch.3 wk is really recent.it is major abdominal surgery

Oh holy crap.
I just looked at soome photos at what they did......

'ckin ell

It's a big op, don't underestimate it. I'll never forget someone at baby group bragging to me how they were driving 3 weeks later. Silly. I used my Didymos (wraparound sling) after about a month I think. No that was DD who was elcs. and only 6lb14 at birth. Can't remember for DS, prolly around two months.
I have a funny kind of numb skin but tickly underneath feeling above my scar when I stroke it.
Don't look at the pictures of innards! I looked up at the light fitting during my second section and it looked soo alien in there!

If you don't keep the pain relief up, you can have a sensation of your back sinking through the floor when you lie down.

Take it easy, and congratulations on your baby!

I saw myself in the light fitting with my first ELCS too, it was horrible, I made sure this time that I didn't look!
I agree about overdoing it too, haemorraghing is not something anyone wants to happen and I know people who have done too much and ended up back in hospital.

Eek, makes me glad I was under general! Thanks everyone. I am taking it easy as even walking anywhere makes for a weird pulling sensation.

I had one 18 months ago. Felt more comfortable after 6 weeks. Sex after 4 weeks. Gym at 12 weeks, but very very gentle stuff.

Just had a poke down there and think the numbness has virtually all gone. Am pregnant again too.

i think i was still on painkillers at 3 weeks though.

and I was a right miserable cow for the first month. Couldn't stand being so restricted. Hope you feel better very soon.

I had one 5 weeks ago and would say that my tummy is pretty much back to normal now. The scar was quite tender for about 3 weeks and I didn't do much more than gentle walking before then. I had painkillers for a few days but didn't finish the ones I left hospital with. No problems with breastfeeding or handling a 7lb baby either. Have 6 week check on 12th May and hoping the dr will sign me off to hit the gym. I read so many horror stories about c-sections before I had one but mine, and the recovery, was an entirely positive and pretty painless experience.

Gangle- do take it easy at the gym- there is a lot of tissues that's been cut through, I would take it really steady. Sorry if that sounds nannyish.

thanks Pinky. Was wondering what the dr would say about gym the sit ups etc as read different things - some say ok after 6 weeks, others say 3 months. Don't want anything to rupture!

I had emcs may 06 for low heart rate which I can barely rememer what happened but just thankful for healthy baby girl and then elcs in nov for another healthy girl, recovery not too bad, out trainig for 10k now, but do be carefulk, it is major abdo surgery don't forget. Does your hosp do post delivery shape up?
Or personal coach at gym should be able to advise but not all are happy to do so...
Worse second time rouns as couldn't pick up my older girl
give it time n listen to your body!

I had an Emergency section in June 2006 as DS's heart rate kept plummeting during contractions as the cord was round his neck twice. TBH I haven't really had any problems apart from it getting itchy at times but think all scars do that for some reason??? I was lucky enough to have disolving stitches on the inside so didn't really have any pain after 2 ays they were forcing me to take pain killers in hospital for fear I would just come down with a crash! But I have a few friends who hve had Emergency sections and all had traditional 'fish gut' stitches and were all in agony for a while afterwards. But to be on the safe side I'd just relax and do minimal for a few weeks yet!

Mine felt funny for ages - for nearly a year I fear! I could feel things shifting around and pulling. I got it checked but it was all fine - just healing.

Before I was pg I once climbed over our 6ft high garden wall after I locked myself out. A month or two after my CS I remember looking longingly at that wall, thinking "my body is so f*cked now, I'll never be able to do anything like that again". I was wrong - I'm back to full strength now (nearly 3 years on!)

The more you take it easy now, the better it will heal. I know it's frustrating though.

I had my appendix out nine months after my emergency c-section. It felt so minor in comparison! Made me realise how major an op the c-section was and how much easier I should have taken things.
I know it's really difficult- when you're sent home with your first baby but told not to do anything - but you really do need to rest. Think mine still felt odd/pulled for at least 6 months but think I would have healed sooner if I had acted like I'd just had major surgery instead of trying to be supermum.

mine was very easy, wound got a bit infected but quickly cleared up with antibiotics and i was driving the car 2 weeks later, apart from an unattractive keloid scar i have no problems,personnally think ecs was easier recovery than normal delivery ( thought that was a pretty traumatic one)

hi, it felt strange for a long time, kind of numb but i had a very heavy baby to carry about after and my uterus took ages to go down and was infectd. the wound was ok. my doc described it as a very brutal operation. I took it REALLY easy - no housework etcor walks for 6 weeks at least.or driving. just lay and breastfed lying down mostly. its over a year later and it seems ok, just not a flat tummy my baby was cut during the op though, so there are other complications.

Whomovedmychocolate posted a fab video of the op on another thread recently. It just underlines why you shouldn't be driving, hoovering, heavy lifting for at least 6 weeks after. I know people who have and they were out of action for much longer than 6 weeks as a result.
I don't mean to scare anyone who is having the surgery, but don't feel like you should be doing loads just because some people did- it's not worth the risk.

I have had no problems with C section and almost 4 years later I have no scar. It was numb and tingly but did wear off after about 3 months. I made sure I took my pain relief and recall asking for more from a GP. I think this also helped me recover quickly as I was not focussed on any pain but just my baby. My DH is a pharmacist and he researched and assured me medication was safe for bf.

It is major surgery but take things slow, enjoy your baby and it will get better.
I actually now feel more frightened of the thought of delivering vaginally because c section went fine that I am having another in July for baby number 2.

Gangle forgot to add, I was doing pilates at gym 8 weeks with ok from GP. I actually think moving, albeit slowly helped me as does the poisitive frame of mind of getting back out there so to speak!

I had a emergency section 3 years ago and then an elective 11 months ago. With both the numbness last for a fair while. My scar this time is much less numb though. I was advised by a lovely midwife that once the actual scar had healed I should gently massage along the scar line on a regular basis. I did this and I don't know the science behind it but this time around I have hardly any numbness left. After my first there were still numb patches even when I was pregnant with DS.

Do take it easy though - that is the best thing you can do for your body (and ultimately your baby too). Ultimately the more you rest, the faster you recover and the faster you get to do all the things with your baby that you want to do.

Congratulations on a safe delivery!

Still numb 9 and a half years later..... anyone know why numbness is always abnove the scar and not below?

Mine was 9 years ago, and I feel numb above the scar but the scar it self is as itchy as fuck.

I felt like my body wasn't my own for months after, but I still felt it was probably easier than a vaginal delivery (though I can't know that of course, having only given birth once!..just from conversations at baby groups etc).

Hope you feel well in yourself soon and are enjoying every minute of your precious new baby. I know we all struggle at times, but I LURVE being a mum and wouldn't trade it for the world.

In fact, I'm off...this is making me way too broody

I had an em c-s 4 years ago, and now have no problems with the scar BUT go easy on yourself. It took me quite a while to lose all the numbness and tingling along the scar. I would definitely stay off the hoovering, driving etc (who wants to hoover anyway?). The problem with driving is not that you can't do the straightforward pootling-along-the-road bit, but that you may not be able to react in an emergency, or that you may damage yourself trying to do an emergency stop or something like that. Also, I don't know about you, but the GA did not do me any favours either!
It was probably harder dealing with the appendectomy surgery I had a couple of years ago while 31 weeks' pregnant with second child, but that's another story - now pg with third baby, and sincerely hoping not to collect another abdominal scar for the collection

Had c-section 11 mths ago due to DS's heart slowing. Had previous surgery few years before so they went through same scar, but had trouble due to build up of scar tissue.
Had 3 infections in the following 6 weeks, which was wearing.

Felt really unsure about driving for ages afterwards, much longer then the 6 weeks they suggest. And it was a struggle just doing general household chores and having to ask family and friends to help.

All fine now. Scar has pratically disappeared

I had em c-section 9 years ago and things have never been right tummy wise. Still have numb areas and periods more painful and heavier since then. titchy I am like you, numb above but not below.

You will have places you can't feel anything - I do, also loads of bruising. I literally had a green belly for a few weeks. lol

I had the "failure to progress" cs 8 months ago almost to the day. Mine healed well but I still have some numbness going up towards my tummy and also get itchy tingling from time to time. Feel like some maternal version of Harry Potter and his scar

I actually scaled down my painkillers before I had to because I was getting a bit cavalier because I couldn't feel any discomfort at all. Around 5 days afterwards I felt this sort of twanging sensation and got a bit scared so decided I'd rather have niggling discomfort to remind me not to lift tubs of washing etc.

The whole area still doesn't feel quite right. if I press on my scar it feels like the area is somehow weak. I guess it takes years to heal properly - thats a lot of tissue to cut through.

Had emergency c-section as DS was overdue and showing signs of severe distress.
I went to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry and would have no hesitations in having another c-section. Fab support from the health care workers who were very sensitive to the fact that DH and myself were very fragile and nervous (not quite how you plan having your first eh?)
all my stitching has been done internally so no stitches to come out. Dressing removed after 24h post op and have shower and visited the toilet within 24hrs of having c-section. Felt exhausted for a few weeks (i'm sure c-section wasn't the only responsible factor though)but followed advice from physio and TRIED to do some exercises when i had a moment (ie not very often, maybe once a week).
all bits intact and as i said i'd be tempted to go for a c-section if there was to be a next time.

I had a crash section 14 months ago. I had no idea how much it would affect me. I couldn't do all the usual things - like putting washing in the machine, emptying dishwasher etc. I took it easy, learnt how to move a buggy up on the pavement by using arms or feet to help manovere it up. However, now I have full feeling and no side effects.

I was told in the hospital to not get pregnant for a minimum of 12 months - preferably 18 months - as this is how long any woman's body can take to recover from pregnancy and labour (this is without a csection). Also this is how long it takes for the scar and internal parts to heal after a section.

Three things that might help are:
1. handy andy - mechanical arm from boots that older people use. Great for picking up things like muslins, bibs etc as well as my own socks from the floor - saved bending over lots.

2. bumptothree website - offical grobag site - sells a belt to help protect the scar (3 fillings - heat, cool and padded I think)

3. nursing cushion - for feeding baby (either breast or bottle) takes the pressure off tummy area

4. online food shopping like tesco or ocado - they can deliver straight to your kitchen so you don't have to lift heavy bags of shopping

Take it easy as it will heal. Make the most of any help you can get

Its been 3 3/4 years since mine, and still numb! Went on to have a normal delivery last year, and so much better. You might think so during the labour, but when its done its over (bar a bit tender)

Mine didn't bother me at all, no pain afterwards but very itchy rash where i'd been shaved .

Drove after 2 weeks. Had dissolvable stitches and have virtually no scar now!

I had a crash cesarean and have numb patches above the scar (12 inch bikini) still have to be careful sneezing and have a lot of lumpy adhesions internally - had IBS for months and months after the birth. Only recently have been able to do situps -4 YEARS ON! can't lie on my sides either and sex life non existent due to pain....

However, I found the book "lose your mummy tummy" very useful and it helped me correct an abdominal muscle separation (diastisis). And I've been able to move on a bit.

Hope all goes well with the feeding and congratulations on the cesarean birth of your baby!

had mine 17 months ago and scar still numb but otherwise ok - be careful and take it easy as I popped a stitch lifting carry cot onto pram at about 5 weeks

Hi, Had mine Dec 2006 and still big scar and very numb, also really bobbly (through haematoma)....not as bad as it was though. It was emergengcy section and I bled out badly afterwards so recovery in hospital was weeks and at home was months...eeek!

Has anyone had a second and asked them to cut around the first scar? I've heard it can be done and wondered what the result was like?

Had mine 2 years ago - and I still can't believe my daughter's mine. Went in for a normal ante-natal appointment, and was sent home to get my hospital bag, cos my sod of a daughter was lying across me and had been doing so for the last 2 weeks, so had to go home to get my bag, then go straight back to hospital, where I was whisked down to theatre, the anaesthetist tried SIX times to get an epidural in and failed, so I had to have a general. I felt (and still do) robbed of the whole giving birth experience. I had no waters breaking, no labour pains, it was literally like sitting here, being knocked out, coming round and being told I had a girl. To be honest, my back gave me more grief than my c-scar. I felt like I'd been kicked in the back by a horse. It's only now, 2 years later, I feel like my body is back to normal. I still have numbness across my scar, but I've been told that's normal. I feel ready for another baby now, so we'll have to see what happens!!

Had mine 2 years ago -emergency c-sec. Feel fine now, even though sit ups are still really hard (should try more often though)
But as mulls says, body really only feels back to normal now and thought numbness would last forever.
When I think about it, it was a traumatic experience. But, when I was ready I talked through my notes with a midwife and was able to ask lots of Q's. Even spoke to very nice consultant -briefly!-about some things midwife could not answer. Think this helped a lot and the fact that I had tried to mentally prepare myself that this might have to happen. (planned a homebirth and laboured at home for a good while)
Take it easy, before you know it you'll feel back to normal.

Four weeks ago, after 12 hours on gas & air, and 4 hours with an epidural, I was told there was NO way the baby was going to fit and he was taking way too long to recover between contractions so I was sent for an emergency c-section and delivered a beautiful little boy weighing 11lbs 14oz!!!

A c-section was absolutely the last thing I had wanted (all along I'd been planning a natural water birth), but I have to say, apart from the shock and disappointment at not having the delivery I'd originally wanted, the whole thing went really well. The operation itself went really quickly and even the stitching up seemed to be over fairly soon too.

Recovery wise I found that if I took the pain killers at regular intervals, rather than waiting to actually be in pain before taking them, then I felt fine. I stopped taking them within 2 weeks. Now bits of my tummy still feel a bit numb/odd, almost like it's not my flesh - a bit weird.

I've also found that every time I think I'm feeling absolutely fine, and try to do the normal things (ie vacuuming or (stupidly) going shopping) then I have a massive increase in my blood flow (tmi, sorry) which my midwife told me is my body's way of telling me I need to slow down. So, although I'm feeling great, I'm making sure I don't do too much too soon, although I'm itching to drive and go shopping for the baby etc, I've been forcing myself to wait as it really is a major surgery and it's not worth risking any complications.

Although before I was terrified at the prospect of a c-section, having had one, I feel much more positive about them. Wishing you a rapid recovery!

Snap Imyflutterby re wanting a natural birth and ending up with the oppposite!

Haven't read all the posts so sorry if repeating but I was told that the numb feeling would stay as they cut through some major nerves during the op. I had a c-section 6 months ago and still have a numb feeling on one side of the scar but I was amazed how neat the scar is - was expecting to a big smile on my tummy!

Just had my 4th c-section 11 weeks ago.Still feels a bit numb but the feeling does come back.I was home from hospital in 36 hours and i was driving after 2 days.Don't know why people make such a fuss about c-sections for me being pregnant is much more uncomfortable.If you lie around all day i think it takes longer for you to feel like your old self,personally i prefer to just get on with things.

Sportybird - I have. I asked if they could go through the same scar as I didn't want tram line they said they do automatically. They cut away all the old scar tissue and gave me a nice new scar - which has healed beautifully. (both my scars were very neat)

The old scar removal also has the unforeseen bonus of having removed the top half of my bikini line so I no longer have to worry about the top! lol

I am 11 months on from the second section, losing weight nicely and well able to do sit ups etc.

Cheers, RedFraggle...hee hee hee I'm hoping they might take a bit of extra skin out too!!!! Then I'll almost have that tummy tuck!

I look at my little girl every day and think that my crash section was worth it, BUT I have had the horror of having an incisional hernia where my c-section scar is. Since then I have had 2 operations to try and repair it(touch wood the last one worked) , so that's a total of 3 lots of major abdominal surgery to get through. Basically because I did a lot of sport I was desperate to restart after the birth and probably did too many sit ups too soon and caused the hernia. My advice is to take it easy, ignore the braggers at baby group. It's not a race to get a flat tummy. Save having cosmetic surgery, I will now never have a flat stomach again because of the hernia. Everyone recovers in different ways from this - so listen to your body..... good luck bearmama

Had mine in January. Scar very dscreet and fading alrready. Wasn't anything like as bad as I imagined. Sore for a few days afterwards. Only thing was I felt that good a week after that I started to do too much and caused the wound to start weeping, so had to slow down a bit. Feel absolutely fine now. To be honest, knowing what I know now, it wouldn't faze me at all to have to have another one. Baby was breech by the way which they hadn't figured out in any of my ante natal appointments. I had actually been told by midwife at ante natal that baby was head down and engaged, so when I went into labour I toddled off to nice midwifery unit only to be sent to another hospital for a c- section. He was a big baby too, 9lb 1 oz, and I'm only little so I was relieved it was a CS in the end.

Pamsy makes a good point about not trying to exercise too soon. I only started doing sit ups about 2 months ago. DS is 11 months now, I went for slowly increasing walks and did the post-natal exercises they recommend but that was it for about 9 months. Possibly I took it a bit too slow but at least I feel I am totally recovered now.
There is no point doing yourself an injury trying to be a toned skinny person straight away. There will always be someone who is straight back in their size 8s [grrr] But to balance them out there are dozens of women who are slowly, slowly working their way back to normality.

Sportybird Remember too that an elective section is VERY different to an unplanned one. I had a crash section with DD due to her heartrate plummeting and an elective with DS. The elective was so calm and wonderful that it really helped me to dispel some of the demons from DD's birth experience.

Having had two emegency c- sections at two different hosptitals, I have to say the after care was completely different. After the first operation, (heart beat drastically dropping and maternity nurse jumping on my bed like something out of ER to ensure monitoring could continue) I was still having to get on my hands and knees in order to pick things up from the floor four month later as I could not bend down without feeling real pain. I was in and out of hospital with fever, and was told by my surgeon that if I had had a similar op for another reason, I would have been told to have six weeks complete bed rest, but as I had a baby ( a gorgeous son) I simply had to get on with it. Wanted a natural birth with my DD, but ended up with second E C-section for the same reason, dropping foetal heartrate, but the after care was wonderful, and within a couple of weeks felt things were coming together. No fever, no pain, only staples to take out ( if given the option, don't go for staples! They nip like ** when taken out!!) and could hold my daughter no problem. So I think it is a mixture of circumstances that lead to the outcome, but the only thing that really matters in the end is the safe delivery of the baby. The rest can be dealt with.

My emCS was nearly 15 years ago now and tbh I can't recall when it was healed ok as it took me years to bring myself to even look at the scar Many report of feeling numb, or tingly, or cold.

It must have healed no problem because now I have to really look to make it out from the rest of the skin. But I definitely felt nukb in that area for a long time.

I tend to advise people to use Arnica to help with the healing, to take it VERY easy and give your body the time to heal. Plenty rest, good food, plenty water, LIGHT but regular exercise, and listen to your body, if it starts to niggle, STOP doing too much! There are no prizes for heroics, only pain. You've had major abdominal surgery!!

it took 9 months for it to feel ok to touch it as it was sooo tender before that. i recovered well despite having a wound infection but was cleared up quick with antibiotics.

i had mine in oct 04 and it was last year that i started to feel more of my skin around the scar. its about just over a inch that is numb now.

bear - get a grip woman, 3 weeks after major surgery is NOTHING. you are expecting far to much of yourself. just becase teh skin is healing doesnt mean that everything is Ok underneath. all these big muscles have been cut and they will take a while to heal

you need to listen to advice re not doing heavy lifting, especaily twisting at the same time. i have a show off friend who ignored thsi and was back at the gym aftre a few weeks and ruptured things

my CS was 2 years ago. i have no numbness but still have that attractive overhang. so no more bikini modelling for me LOL

i had some pulling for a while but was back at pilates aftre 3 months. still find sit ups hard but maybe just coz I'm fat and middle aged

forgot to say, scar was totally invisible aftre about a year i think

HI, I had a c-sec 13 mths ago and have been seeing NHS physio at hospital for the last 8mths. I suffered some kind of nerve damage after the epidural as it took 4 attempts to get the thing in. I had to fight hard to get the physio referral and had months of pain, taking drugs every day for the first 5 months. It had a really negative effect on my feelings of being a new mum for the first 6 months and massive strain on my relationship. Id advise anyone who has nerve pain or funny feeling in tum to go see your GP and push if you not happy with the answers and your discomfort continues. I had problems at my 8 wk check but I was too uncertain to push for help, now I really wished I had and could have avoided some of the distress i had this year. I am slowly on the mend and doing pilates exercise given by the physio. Which are helping to rebuild my tummy muscles and support my back.