Recovery (induction/cervical tear/forceps delivery)

[Susiebmoo]

Hi all

I had my beautiful baby girl on Boxing Day after being induced at 38 weeks on Christmas Day (I had been diagnosed with severe preeclampsia).

Delivery happened rather quickly once the Propess had been inserted - I received the Propess at 19.30 and was fully dilated by 01.30 and had to be wheeled to theatre for a forceps delivery under general anaesthetic. I tried pushing however as dd's heart rate dropped she needed to be delivered quickly. Poor dd needed to be resuscitated on arrival (she bounced back quickly though ) and I lost 2.5 litres of blood due to cervical and third degree tears.

We had to stay in hospital for a week after and I'm still feeling pretty rough now - really sore, tired, constipated/hemaroids, loss of bladder control, urine infection (sorry TMI). I've told the midwives and they've been great but have said these things will take time to heal. This is getting me down as I feel I'm letting down my dd and husband by not being able to do as much as I'd like. Does anyone else feel like this during recovery? (Or any tips on post partum constipation - I'm finding it traumatic! )

[LampShadeHeid]

Hello!
I also had a forceps delivery, although it wasn’t nearly as bad as yours. I really felt I struggled with the recovery too. I was so sore from my episiotomy that sitting to breastfeed was agony!
It does take time. I found that a cooling spray on maternity pads provided some relief (I used one from boots called Bottoms Up, £10). I heard the horror stories of the constipation so I was regularly taking lactulose, but I think I overdid it and was having the opposite effect. And I’m not at all recommending you take these long term, but even for some short relief?

I wish that people spoke more about the recovery from childbirth. Yes the birth was painful, but I was in agony for weeks which I was just not expecting!

[WinterWife]

Can't relate in regards to injury as I had a csection but totally understand the feeling of not able to do as much as you'd like.
I recovered quite well but struggled to get on the floor. Sounds silly now but I was so desperate to be able to sit on the floor to do a nappy or play with her and it killed me watching DH do it all although he was amazing.
You aren't letting them down lovely, you've grown this beautiful baby for 9 months and had what sounds like a pretty touch delivery. I'm sure your DH is happy to take on most of the duties. Wishing you a speedy recovery

[bellajay]

Another one here that was a bit astonished by the level of recovery needed. I was really uncomfortable for a couple of weeks while the stitches healed. I remember at three weeks post partum just thinking that childbirth had ruined my body and that I was going to have to work so hard to get back to normal.

Of course I hadn’t given it enough time at all and every week after that I felt better and better.

I also struggled with needing a fair bit of support from my husband but eventually I realised that up until that point I had done 95% of the work of bringing the baby into the world so it wasn’t exactly unreasonable to sit back for a little while!

It’s much easier said than done but the more you rest, the quicker you’ll recover, then you can start building strength back up.

On the constipation, if you’re taking iron tablets they could be exacerbating the problem, I think there are different types of iron you can try.

Keep doing your pelvic floor exercises. They will absolutely help! I felt like I was getting nowhere but all of a sudden after maybe 8 weeks I realised things had hugely improved. The NHS Squeezy app helped a lot with that.

Oh...and congratulations on your new daughter!

[redandwhite1]

I found tea tree oil in a bath helped

Once the stitches disolved it also felt so much more comfortable - are yours gone now?

[Yakadee]

Poor you op. I had a similar experience but not as bad as you. I had a very long recovery and honestly, it did get me down. I was very surprised by the extra help (physio) and how long it took to full recover. That being said, I did recover and feel fine about it now.

I'm actually expecting my second in a few weeks and I am having a planned section because of my experience.

My advice, don't beat yourself up. You've been through a massive ordeal. You are doing your best and it's absolutely enough for your baby, don't worry. It might take some time to fully heal / come to terms with it but you will. You should be so proud of what you have done - be kind to yourself.

Take care xxx

[Yakadee]

Also, lavender oil on pads and in Bath (only a few drops) x

[MaverickSnoopy]

Constipation yes - still struggling some days now even though I'm 3 month pp.

I was prescribed movicol which didn't make any difference at all. In the end I had to take the intensive clear out dosage which had some effect. Was something like day 1 make up 4 sachets and drink throughout the day, day 2 6 sachets and day 3 8 sachets. Helped a bit and since then I reduced the amount to 2 a day and then 1 a day and then 1 every other day. Now I take lactalose if needed and I can kind of guess when I need to. I've also increased the fibre in my diet. Prunes are great if you're struggling - get yourself a carton of the juice. Lots of water too.

[FoxgloveStar]

Get a referral to the women’s health physio - you’ll likely need help with your pelvic floor recovery.

[Flyingfox2]

I'm sorry @Susiebmoo. I had a similar birth with similar blood loss. The truth is you've just been through the equivalent of having a car crash and ending up in A&E with severe blood loss caused by serious injuries. The problem is that because it happened during birth and not on the road, no one bats an eyelid. No one talks about births like that. You'll probably meet silence and not many people will answer your questions.
Having been there, I'd recommend getting as much physical and practical support as possible for the first 3 months. People are going to have nurse you (that's the hard bit to crack because they don't understand and also expect you to get on with looking after your baby). Help you walk a bit, with food, taking you to medical appointments, deal with any lifting etc. Breastfeeding is a delicate topic and I can't know how you feel about it. My view is that your circumstances are way out of the norm. Loosing that much blood is serious and recovering from that takes a long time. If you're OK with formula, I'd do that so others can feed as well and you can rest.
I would definitely see a physiotherapist if this hasn't been organised yet. Some hospitals have midwives specialised in severe tears who can be your port of call. Sadly not all services have that. Inform your GP and ask to be reviewed every month? for iron, pain, possible infections, general wellbeing.
If you'd like to chat to other women who've gone through the same, the Birth Trauma Association Facebook group is the best place.
Big hug

[Honeybee79]

Hello. No experience re the injury you sustained but I am 6 days post c-section and can empathise with your feelings of not being able to do as much as you would like or feel you should be doing. I feel guilty that DH is doing so much more than me around the house and with our other kids, but in all honesty I know that if I push myself too much now and overdo things then I won't be helping either of us in the long run.

Recovery from birth just takes time, try to be kind to yourself and cut yourself some slack .