How do you heal properly after C-section?

[Cia50]

Hi, C-Section mums! I’m curious: What products did you find most effective for your healing process? Did ice packs provide relief? Were your scars itchy— if so, what did you do to help dim the discomfort? What underwear and clothing did you wear to help prevent irritation? Also, how did you deal with the afterbirth bleeding and moving after the operation? Please share your experience and any tips you have. Thanks in advance! :)

[elliejjtiny]

Massive pants and oramorph.

[Fatted]

Hang onto your maternity leggings and big knickers for a while. High waisted leggings/Pj's etc are your friend. Steer clear of anything like jeans for a few weeks.

Take pain relief like clock work. I was on tramadol in the hospital. When I got home, I had paracetamol and ibuprofen every 4 hours on the dot. Even if you feel like you don't need it, take it and do not wait until you are in pain.

Rest as much as physically possible in the early days. Get someone else to do everything. Sleep when the baby sleeps. Leave housework etc. Take your time and don't over do it. I pushed myself to get back to normal very quickly after my first c-section and ended up with suffering as a result. With my second, I rested up for the first few weeks and felt much better much quicker second time around.

I never had a problem with itching in my wound or infection etc. Resting helps. Regular washing obviously helps. I sweated loads after having my kids so was showering twice a day. Air it out. A tip a MW gave me after my second was to lie on the bed with nothing covering it and lift my belly up (you will likely have a slight overhang to begin with) so it could get air to it. I didn't use anything directly on my wound other than soap and water. Try check it as much as you can and get anything concerning checked out sooner rather than later.

Just be prepared for the first time you go to the toilet. Especially if you are on iron supplements.

[elliejjtiny]

Oh and stay in hospital for as long as you can for the electric bed and the good painkillers.

When you get up out of bed in hospital, press the button on your bed to raise the head end until you are sitting up first. Then it's easier to get up.

[GreenTulips]

I stopped taking pain killers when I left the hospital as I didn’t need them.

Bit of itching as the scar healed but in normal range.

Legs swell due to the meds so keep your feet up for a while. No heavy housework. (Bonus)

[ActualStork223]

Massive knickers one or two sizes up from your usual ... I bathed in pure water, had my first shower about 14 hours after op. They'll tell you not to be vigorous, just let the water run over you - no soaps and after the first few days and midwife checking the stitches used a very gentle baby lotion on the scar . Also once you've had the ok check with your midwife about using Epsom salts in the bath if you have one ...

I have eczema and have always favoured the gentlest products you can find .

Take it easy getting up and down extra pillows on sofa etc... I found once I was up I was ok and actually cooked a meal 2 days after the op.

getting out of bed for the first couple of days was tough but it slacked off pretty quick . I sort of rolled over and kneeled on the floor to get up if you see what I mean :)

Take it slow slow slow... Listen to your body.

I never needed ice or any thing... My friend has had 2 sections and recommened paramol. These contain dihydrocodine if your able to take that alongside ibuprofen... My best advice - take all the painkillers you Can! Don't be a martyr and think you need to suffer!

I had (still have ) very light summer trousers that come up was over the belly and don't restrict movement, and try and move as much as you can albeit slowly :)

The bleeding wasn't bad at all as they tend to Hoover (for want of a better word) the blood out when you have the op but maternity pads or the old fashioned sanitary pads with thick cotton wool are great and provide an extra level of cushioning as you may still feel quite tender around the loins...

Take it slow and do try and move and congratulations !!

[PastramiNoRye]

I found keeping my scar dry was the key to it healing. Unscented sanitary pads/maternity pads pressed up against it kept it dry. Also airing the wound regularly really helped.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

I had two, 13 months apart, in a hospital that was closing down and moving. My experience was interesting.

First was an EMCS after 36 hours established labour with a baby sitting back to back and sacroiliac hip dysfunction which made lots of positions impossible. Only got to 8 cms and baby was stuck. Eventually got an epidural and then had to wait for theatre. Large baby (9lb 13oz) was fine and then up to ward where they continually missed drug rounds, didn't remove the tube from the epidural which was then basically an open tube into my spine, were poor at supporting bf, kept saying they'd pop back later but didn't. I was borderline for a blood transfusion. My bed was broken and stuck at a level that made it difficult to lift baby from the cot. I didn't get so much an opportunity to wash my hands from when I arrived at the hospital until DH watched the baby so I could go for a shower. I checked out against medical advice on day 3 and went home with paracetamol and that was that. Home care was much better but i essentially just got on with things, agree loose clothes. I never had anything stronger than paracetamol and i don't have a high pain threshold. the wound was fine, I had staples, the HV removed these at some point. Make sure you don't have any waistbands that sit low on your stomach.

2nd was an elective section as they didn't think the scar would hold and baby was also lying back to back. Op went well, hospital was a worse state than last time, broken lamp, no curtain on window etc but staff were much better, I had a bed bath on arrival in the ward and one of the mid wives took DS away for a few hours during the night to let me sleep and just brought him back when he was hungry, still didn't have anything more than paracetamol and checked out on the morning of Day 3 with their blessing.

Whilst DH was helpful, there wasn't much opportunity to rest with a newborn and a 13 month baby :) Wound was again stapled and removed by HV with no issues.

I suppose it's about doing what you are ok with and taking opportunities to rest if you can but don't assume that you'll be bedbound, crippled and unable to do anything and be in pain as that's not my experience and your are probably a lot more capable and able than you think.

We've always been a "just get on with it" family though. I broke my finger in the supermarket on the trolley one evening but I just shoved it on a bag of frozen peas and finished the shopping, didn't fancy a late evening trip to minor injuries so just strapped it myself and carried on :o

[DippyAvocado]

Keep the wound clean, although taking care not to get it too wet for the first 3 weeks or so. Get plenty of air to the wound if you can. I took the pain killers as prescribed even if I wasn't feeling any pain - I didn't want to get to the stage where I did feel it!

It is important not to overdo things as rest will help it to heal quicker. I had a very straightforward recovery but I wasn't moving around "normally" for 4 weeks or so. I subsequently had a vaginal birth with severe tearing (3c) and thought that would take longer to recover from, but I was up and about much quicker than after the c-section.

When you're given the all-clear to take a bath, I found a bit of lavender and tea tree oils mixed with milk then added to a bath seemed to help.

[ShinyFootball]

Why do you ask?

I didn't use 'products'.

I made use of the morphine.
I wore big pants so as not to dig into the cut.
I made absolutely sure not to lift anything heavy e.g. washing, toddler and generally took it as easy as possible as is usually expected with major surgery (but for some reason not so much with c sections)
I cared for the wound as per the instructions

Does that help?

[strawbmilk]

I bought c section pants from mothercare. Think boots and John Lewis do similar. I felt they gave great security for the would. It's about £20 for 2 pairs which is pricey but I thought worth it. Think I wore them for 3/4 weeks until I forgot to wash a pair.

Maternity leggings and trousers make sure nothing sits on the scar.

I was lucky and healed quickly. Discharged next day. Back in park with toddler the following. Keep as mobile as possible without doing too much!

[rottiemum88]

Never used ice packs, couldn't imagine anything worse to be honest but It's probably a personal thing. I stuck to high waisted soft bottoms (leggings etc) for a while and bought some knickers specifically designed for post-section. Think I wore tena pants overnight for the first few weeks and that helped too. My after birth bleeding was very light and stopped altogether within a couple of weeks. Worst thing for me was the swelling. I had horrendous swelling in my legs/feet for a couple of weeks after the birth when it eventually died down, felt like longer though. Lived with a constant tingling sensation until then and only had one pair of flat, ballet pump style shoes from pre-birth that would fit my feet in, which wasn't ideal for a mid-January baby! Also having baths helped me massively once I was home; I was terrified to have one at first but the relief was so much better than painkillers

[LusciousV]

Hey,

I'm currently 9 days post section.

What products did you find most effective for your healing process?
I haven't used any products.

Did ice packs provide relief?
Never used or needed ice packs.

Were your scars itchy— if so, what did you do to help dim the discomfort?
Very slight itch the day the stitches were removed (day 5) but no real discomfort and it wasn't continuous.

What underwear and clothing did you wear to help prevent irritation?
I'm wearing high waisted granny pants that come up to my belly button. They are so comfy. Also living in high waisted leggings and PJ bottoms.

Also, how did you deal with the afterbirth bleeding and moving after the operation?
I've had very minimal post birth bleeding, not even enough to warrant wearing maternity pads. I'm just using heavy flow sanitary towels (and not coming close to filling them).
I was given 2 doses of morphine whilst in hospital, one 8 hours post surgery and the other 12 hours later. Other than that, I've only needed paracetamol and ibuprofen. Moving around has not been an issue for me. I was up 12 hours after surgery to shower (could have got up sooner though). You need to be careful when getting in and out of bed but when up and moving it's fine.

[Cia50]

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for your comments, you have been really helpful❤️

[NWnature]

I second the tip of using a sanitary pad horizontally in some massive cotton pants which provides both a bit of cushioning and keeps it dry.

I was discharged the next day less than 24 hrs from op, I felt pretty mental the first few days to be honest and just stayed in bed except for going to the bathroom / kitchen. Had a shower everyday and dried the scar with hairdryer on cool setting. Took all the pain meds like clock work, I only have ibruprofen when I was discharged.

Take stool softeners/ eat prunes as I found that being sedentary meant I got quite constipated ! I didn’t have much bleeding, used a few maternity pads but it was just like a heavy period really. Only a few days before it became much lighter then maybe stopped a week or so ago (3 weeks pp).

Stand up straight and try to move around as it really helps just don’t lift things and take is very easy on walks in terms of speed/ inclines. Get the midwives / your partner to help with picking up the baby from awkward positions.

I really really hated the blood thinning injections - but generally my recovery has been really good. I’m 4 weeks post op now and feel almost back to normal just a bit tired/ weak if I exert myself too much on walks. I’m going to have my first bath this weekend I think as scar seems very healed.