Post c section tips for a terrified mum to be

I've had two and my top tip is suppositories! Skip the stress and drama of the first poo and just use a suppository. I was given them in hospital but I gave birth overseas so might not be a thing in the UK.

Five days in hospital was standard for c section mums in the country we lived in at the time. I guess you'll get sent home much earlier but try not to do everything you usually do just because you're at home, it's easy to overdo it.

Physio in my hospital said not to do the pulling on the rope thing. They advised lying on my side and pushing up sideways.

I understand your fears but there’s nothing to worry about. I had one in February and it was the most relaxing thing ever! If I was to get pregnant again I think I would opt for c section!

All I will say about after care is paracetamol and ibuprofen will be your best friend. Set an alarm for each dose and if you feel better, keep taking them. I did the mistake of stopping because I felt fine then there was pain.

BUY STOOL SOFTENER!!! I cannot explain how much it will help

My sister got me a pick up/ litter picking stick it was brilliant saved bending so much!

Great tips on this thread. Would only add the great advice I had on avoiding trapped wind was to eat LOW fibre for two days before planned section then back to high fibre when home. And do not under any circumstances do laundry - pulling wet washing out of the machine is really bad for your stitches!

100% this. The physio came on day 2 or 3 and told me this and I sobbed because it was such a game changer

Peppermint tea / supplement ( for gas)
Make sure you have shoes and slippers you can slip on without bending over
Please don't worry. I really enjoyed mine. Way better than when I had to give birth the other way x

Take some nice cream like e45 in case of itchy skin , mine was terrible

As pp have said, keep on top of your pain meds. Don’t do too much to soon, even if you feel better. I made this painful mistake! Also stock up on mint tea for the bloating! Best of luck!

Also, I was able to poo on day 2 without issues (sorry TMI) and never had trapped wind. I’ve read so much about how the first poo afterwards is agony, week-long constipation, and trapped wind being the worst of all pains, but you might not get any of these.

I was you a year ago, I started several threads here asking about the pain, recovery, sharing my fears….its manageable, the procedure itself and epidural is not pleasant, but it’s over really quickly. The recovery was a positive surprise for me, I never was in pain. I did ask for dicodeine (or whatever it’s called) straight away and took this in addition to paracetamol and ibuprofen on schedule for the first week (because I’m a wimp when it comes to pain), but this did the trick. I was able to move around slowly from day 2, could lift my baby and go for a coffee. By week 6 I was back at doing exercise classes (carefully, of course). You’ll be fine, but I totally get your worries!

2 C-sections down and I would definitely echo the posts so far. Look after yourself and prioritize your recovery by resting, taking meds and lactulose. Make sure you use the blood thinning injections you are given, they're really important.

The recovery was absolutely fine, a bit sore but nothing like what I had expected. Second time around I popped a couple of stitches by overdoing it (village fair at 5 days PP, 3yo decided to run off while husband was going to the bathroom) and that really set me back. Would recommend being as patient and kind to your body as possible, especially if you're anything like me and love to get out and about!

Best of luck, please don't worry about the recovery, it will be fine xx

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You need to rest and recover as much as possible. For the week that your husband is home, don’t do anything except take care of yourself and your newborn. He needs to wait on you and take care of the other children.

Once he is back at work, do the bare minimum to get through the day. Have him set you up somewhere central in the house . Have him premake all the food all of you will need while he is at work. It should be grab and go things the children can handle mostly independently. You should not be doing any housework. You do the bare minimum to keep everyone safe and happy until he gets home.

Hi, I completely understand your fears as my baby (born in June) was also breech and we couldn’t try the ECV. I was so desperate for the birth I had last time but it wasn’t to be.

Had just got my head around a planned c-section but it turned out to be a cat 1 emergency after I went into natural labour and went to hospital an hour after first contraction and I was 9cm dilated 🙃.

I did find recovery hard (I think in comparison to my first) but my top tips are:

• make sure you’re stocked up on pain meds and write your own schedule with reminders of when to take them.
• tie a blanket to the end of your bed to help you up and/or watch a video of how to safely get out of bed after c-section.
• drink peppermint tea/ take peppermint capsule for trapped wind.
• Bring a pillow to put under the seatbelt for the car journey home.
• buy a litter picker to help you pick up anything and everything at home.
• put everything you can at waist level and above beforehand to limit bending.

Try not to let this ruin your last few weeks of pregnancy as everything will be better than expected ❤️

I had an emergency c section 3 years ago as I was in labour for 4 days and then baby moved to an angle and they had to get him out as meconium was present and he started to get into distress. To be honest I was that tired of it all by then it was such a relief for them to take me to theatre. The operation was so quick and baby was in my arms very quickly. I had him on the thursday afternoon, friday morning I was up and walking the ward and by friday evening I was heading home!
As for the recovery I really didn't find it that bad. Yes its a bit sore on the scar after for a while and its a little painful getting up and down for a few days but my recovery was pretty fast all in all. Just make sure you follow their advice on taking care of the scar including keeping it clean and covered and just take it as easy as you can. Make sure to eat lots of fibre and drink lots of water after as opening your bowels after can be a bit interesting in the first few days!

My elc was great, far easier to recover from in comparison to my first birth with forceps, even though I had a 2 year old to look after with my ELC! However these are my tips!

1. Keep on top of meds, set an alarm to take regularly rather than waiting to be in pain

1. Peppermint tea for trapped wind (even if you think you don’t have it).

1. I suffer with constipation thanks to a rectocele from my first birth, but I would recommend to everyone to have a fleet/cleen phosphate enema at home for emergencies as I struggled to get one over the counter and had to wait 4 days for delivery! No glamorous but it was a god send!!

1. The sooner you get (gently) moving, the easier. By this I mean walking to the kitchen, not the shops!!

1. I found wearing a belly support band really made walking around more comfortable the first few weeks. The midwives in hospital recommended holding a pillow against your tummy as you stand up for the first few days after, which also weirdly helped!

1. You’ll naturally hunch over after, but this will do your back no favours, try to regularly gently raise your arms above your head when you remember!

I agree with what everyone said about looking after your bowels and resting and getting pants that come up to your belly button!

Keep a cushion handy to squeeze against the scar if you need to sneeze or cough. And take very good care of the scar so it doesn't get sore and infected.

Once out of hospital, my recovery from an EMCS was harder than the VBAC that followed it, but actually easier and less painful than my first (vaginal) delivery.

I was driving an automatic after a week, and could have managed earlier except I was worried the insurance company would think I was mad!

Also remember you can note your birth preferences for an EMCS as well as a natural birth. I chose the music, chose delayed cord cutting, made my own cord tie, breastfed the baby immediately, and so on.

Everyone is different but I genuinely didn't find it too difficult. I had baby in a wrap sling two days after my emergency c section.

I found getting up from bed a little difficult at times but other than that, it was fine.

Oh and I had no issue with milk coming in. Indeed I had too much milk.

1. you are having a planned C-section. This makes a huge difference to the actual procedure and your recovery. You will not have laboured so you won't be exhausted from that. The exhaustion (and often trauma) of an EMCS makes it harder to recover from. The fact it's planned makes it easier for surgeons - there's less likelihood of something going wrong (they are performing the surgery when you aren't labouring for starters - that means neater surgery with less errors).
2. I'm not good with pain. I struggled the first 24hrs getting out of bed. But you need to get out of bed asap for various reasons. Expect the first 24 hrs to be rough. But it was manageable. I suspect a lot less painful than labour tbh. You could have all manner of complications with labour and have a slow recovery so it's not really that different. It's just in a different place.
3. I was discharged within 48hrs. I really should have been discharged earlier in the day but they couldn't find someone to sign me off. We had to stop off at Tesco on the way home because it was later than planned (i6 hours of waiting to get discharged in the end so DH couldn't just nip off to get something to eat). I walked around one of those massive fuck off Tesco Extras whilst DH carried DS. I was sore but it was manageable.
4. Keep on top of meds. As long as you do, it's fine. But yeah don't try and be a hero!
5. I went to a summer fayre five days later. Just a potter around and take it easy. Sat down when needed. This is a far cry from bedridden for six weeks.
6. I probably could have driven sooner than six weeks. I didn't because I didn't have to. Tbh I had more issues before giving birth because I couldn't get behind the steering wheel and still reach the pedals!
7. Your biggest issue is your kids jumping on you and over doing in with cooking and cleaning etc. Batch cook before and have no shame about ready meals - this is where you SHOULD use them. Your house SHOULD look like a pig sty. This is where your DH needs to step up.
8. Do lots of sitting on your backside watching mindless TV. This is ok. Do not feel guilty. Enjoy it.
9. I had no issues with constipation. In fact DS being gone solved that particular issue.

Honestly, a lot of the horror stories are about Emergency C-sections - a planned C-section is almost a different procedure because of the circumstances and risks. Don't sweat it.

Some great tips, would also add Chrissi Gallagher Murphy has a n.boom called Caesarian Recovery which has lost of advice from post birth movement to returning to exercise.

You might also want to look up natural c section tips for ideas on how to make even a section feel less medical. I would have liked to ask for like having the baby put straight onto me if possible as it felt like it was a big gap before I got to see hold him. Vaginal microbiome swabbing is something you might also want to consider.

Oh and if you're planning to breastfeed, be aware it can take longer for your milk to come in after a section so don't worry. I had a section, pain was well managed and after a rocky start went on to breastfeed successfully.

I've had 2. The recovery from my EMCS was actually alot easier than my subsequent ELCS but they were both fine.

Take all the painkillers. Peppermint tea and lactose. Get out of bed slowly- that was the hardest part for me. The bandages they now use are pretty good at minimising any infection. You can still successfully establish breastfeeding after a c section. Rest!

I found the walk back to the carpark after my second c section very painful and I wish I'd got DH to pull it nearer.

I had DD on the Tuesday and was out and about by the Saturday as it was bloody Easter weekend! I don't actually recommend dashing around but you can definitely do stuff if you need to.

I had an emcs with my second and an elective with my 3rd because it was a much more relaxed and relaxing experience with a significantly shorter recovery time than my vaginal birth (inc episiotomy which became infected - it's much easier to keep a c-section incision clean and dry than an episiotomy!).

I had wound spray to use on the incision to keep it clean without using anything harsh or needing to touch it. I had bamboo pyjamas because they are so soft, and stretchy enough to accommodate a lot of different combinations of breastfeeding and keeping my incision protected, allowing airflow etc

I made sure the staff knew that I couldn't take NSAIDS so they prescribed me alternative painkillers - with my 2nd I didn't mention it until I was about to be discharged and I had to wait ages for the next Dr's rounds to get a prescription, so if that might apply to you it's worth bearing in mind!

Good luck - it really is a great way to give birth even if it isn't your first choice. 💐

As veteran of two c-sections, I can tell you there really isn't anything to be terrified about. If it's all done well, you are able to do ordinary stuff you need to do within days, probably not much longer than a vaginal birth. I don't know why there is still this idea put about that you'll be totally incapable for weeks and weeks after a section, it's really not the case, especially if it's planned. Emergency ones are a bit harder to recover from because you'll likely have been in labour for some time and will obviously be under more strain. The constipation isn't inevitable, I didn't get it either time but all the same take the advice about JIC.

I'd also say that my scar is barely visible and was that way within a few years - I didn't treat it with anything.

My dh took 2 weeks annual leave tacked on to pat leave - can ypur dh do that.

Note he can also take unpaid parental leave (google it)

Re csection
Elcs is a breeze compared to emcs.

Peppermint tea post surgery and dont be too scared about post.surgery poo. I was TERRIFIED and with both my sections and it was a total nonevent / fine tbh

Do not use hairdryer to dry wound it can introduce infection - air dry with a hand held paper fan or repurpose your baby pram fan! (otherwise you are there all week waitong to air dry)
Wait until wound is healed and then use xxl elastoplast silicone strips or similar.
Dont ignore your.pelvic floor just because it wasnt a vaginal birth. Get a PostPartum MOT from a good physio if you can.
Make a snack station / baby station upstairs as well as living room.

Bring a playlist for the surgery!

Good luck!