Recover from c section?

[milkyman]

I have to decide whether to have natural ir c section soon. First time round was awful - forceps, bloid transfusion etc... took weeks (years mentally) to recover. Doctors focus so much on risks/recovery of csection (never mention anything re natural birth!). Just interested in others experiences. Ds1 will be 3.5 yrs old and 2 days in nursery a week. Dh is having 6 weeks off afterwards and parents nearby. Live near a town so not in the middle of nowwhere.

[ShanghaiDiva]

I have had 2 sections - one emergency under GA and another planned. Recovery was good for both. With the second one I was walking around in the afternoon. You need to be careful with lifting for a while - I know I found it difficult at first to push the pram up onto the pavement if the kerb was high.
Good Luck!

[Nectarines]

I have had an emergency section and a plAnned one. Both times recovery was fine. I was up and about twelve hours later and home next day. After about a week no pain relief needed.

I'm now three weeks post planned section and feel almost back to normal, though I have to be careful not to overdo it or I get a bit sore.

[LottieDoubtie]

Have the section! With DH around for 6 weeks (lucky both of you!) then you will be fine. Recovery will be painful for a couple of weeks- physically, but you will be so much better mentally.

[shatteredstudentmum]

I also had emergency followed by planned sections. The first took me a long time to recover but I also laboured for 37 hours before the section.

Planned one I was much better, up later that day, home a couple of days later and pretty much back to normal after 3 weeks.

[edwfaith]

Had emergency section 4 weeks ago, recovery was rough for day 1 (was worn out, had trouble sitting up alone, had high infection levels, all normal stuff) for the first day but they had me up and walking and after day 1 it was all absolutely fine, got given antibiotics for infection and it cleared up no problem, went home on day 3 and have since had no problem with recovering at home everything has been normal for me, showering, cooking, lifting, tidying, getting to appointments) Good luck, you'll be fine :)

[Metalhead]

I had an ELCS after a tough first birth and would do it again without hesitation. Sitting up in bed and getting up from the sofa at home was a bit painful for a couple of weeks, as was laughing/coughing, but I was off painkillers after two weeks. Felt pretty much back to normal physically after 5/6 weeks. Mentally, I never gave it a second thought, unlike first time round when I kept going over and over what happened and having flashbacks for a couple of years!

[ohanami]

I had emcs but before labour started so it was pretty calm and chilled out. I took a couple of days to get moving again but recovered quickly. After the first day the pain was easily manageable with painkillers and ibuprofen, the only thing I couldn't do for a while was get myself out of bed from lying flat. I was driving three weeks later. Dd was in scbu though so I didn't have to get up every 10 minutes to look after her, it might have been a different recovery if I had to do that. And I do know friends who had a very different recovery (though all theirs were proper rushed emergencies after long labours so very different circumstances).

I wouldn't hesitate to have another if it was necessary, especially if I had my dh around to help out like you mention.

[SweepTheHalls]

Just to give a balanced view, I had an elective section after 2 natural deliveries. I believed that it would be a breeze....... But it was bloody painful, post partum haemorrhage, drains in for 3 days (think carrying around a bag if your body blood draining out of your abdomen.... Nice). Very painful for about 5 days..... Pretty big painkillers for 2 weeks and taking it very easy for about 5 weeks. It was a much harder recovery than I had anticipated.

Having said that....... it was still the right decision.

[Metalhead]

It's definitely not a breeze, agree with you there sweep, and you do need to take it easy for a while!

But then I couldn't walk more than a few metres or sit without being in pain for weeks after my natural delivery either...

[AlphaVTango]

I've had 2 sections, last one 10 weeks ago and I have an 18 month old too. The first week after both was tough but I was off painkillers after 10 days.

DP went back to work on day 12 and we were ok. I was concerned about lifting the toddler because he didn't really understand that I had a sore stomach. I only did when absolutely necessary, we did lots of cuddles and reading on the sofa (and cbeebies!) At 3.5 your first DC will be able to understand that you've got a sore stomach.

I'm not saying c sections are easier than a natural birth - women have good and bad experiences of both - but mine were definitely better than I expected, even with the toddler.