To think that my c section wound shouldnt still be sore at 6 weeks post partum?

[Duesept20]

So I had an EMCS 6 weeks ago....I'm finding that my wound is still hurting in the last week, and I've had to have a week of not going on walks and generally trying to not over exert myself.

Last week I went on a 45 min walk every day so I dont know if i over did it?

But yeah, now at 6 weeks pp its sore, especially if I bend too much. Is that normal?

I'm getting mega upset that I can't exercise because I'm hating my postnatal body more and more. I feel so fat and I know I have about a stone to lose. But I just cant do it right now when I cant exercise 😭

I saw a video of a C-section (after my 2). Essentially you have been cut in different directions through many different layers of your body. These and the blood vessels will take a long time to heal. You need to rest, gentle exercise like a short walk will be good for you and baby but you really are overdoing it.

I overdid it after my first and I ended back up on painkillers and almost total bed rest. Gently does it best.

Please don’t stress about losing weight. When the time is right, you’ll do it no problem. Right now, your body just needs to heal.

Ok thanks everyone....Feeling like a total idiot now 🙄 I've obviously massively overdone it.

When I left the hospital I said to the doctors and midwife "what can I and cant I do after after a section?" And they said "just don't lift stuff!" That was it. I was out of hospital 24 hours after the EMCS even with a 1.5 litre blood loss. So I just went with it. Obvs I did some research about what I could do, but obviously I didnt do enough.

It's not you that's an idiot .
It's the lack of care that expects new mums to care for a newborn and recover from a major op at the same time.

You’re not an idiot OP, I massively overdid it too, it’s so easily done!

In regards to excercises, be extremely cautious with abdominal exercises for quite some time, your abdominal muscles were literally pulled apart during surgery! Be kind to yourself and your body, you grew a human and then had it sliced out of you, you just need to let your body rest.

Postnatal ‘care’ for women is often shit in the UK!

Body stuff post pregnancy/C section can be hard. I found it a huge shock.

Suggest slower, shorter walks and gentler stuff, eg postnatal yoga or pilates.

Weight loss is much more about diet anyway (70-80%?). Obviously weight loss can be harder if you’re sleep deprived, have less time to meal plan, shop and cook, are in pain etc!

I think you should speak to your doctor but definitely possible you are doing too much too soon! I’m ten months on and i occasionally get a pang if I do somerging daft or too much (not actual pain but you’re just reminded of it). Also you are only 6 weeks pp you don’t need to lose the weight or put that much pressure on yourself. I found that I lost the weight very naturally around the 6 month mark and now weigh less than before but, I am breastfeeding. 😊 congrats on your new baby.

Well I had a minor op on my knee and the scar was hurting at 6 weeks. You have had a major op so of course it's normal for it to hurt still.

Sorry, OP, 15 weeks before I could walk properly without pain. I went for my firsr run (very brief, and slow) at about 5 months, and it took a long time for me to get my fitness back up. But (in case you're worried by some of the stories upthread) I now have no pain at all, so there is hope!

I would personally discuss it with a doctor.

Contrary to most people so far, I don't think it's normal. Perhaps because mine were planned sections, perhaps because I got lucky, but I felt 90% fine (albiet with 'just in case' painkillers) within about 5 days and back to normal within about 10 days. I was able to run around the garden pain free chasing my toddler within the first week, so to me, it does seem like a v long recovery, and it doesn't sound like you were overdoing it.

I did have a little bit of a bruised feeling after 6 weeks, but only when I poked my tummy really hard to see if it hurt.

The actual incision/wound, first one didn't hurt ever, and the second I had a weird mild burning feeling (like I had a hot water bottle against me) for about 3 days off and on, but no other incision pain. The only pain I had was a slight bruised feeling.

But everyone is different, and everyone recovers differently. It could be that you have an infection though, so definitely get it checked out.

It’s not just the scar on the outside remember. They cut through a lot of layers and they use their hands to actually tear the muscle underneath to stretch it (it heals better and stronger than if cut). They then stitch you back up with a minimum of two layers of sutures.

It takes time.

Not counting the two layers of sutures on your uterus too.

@Duesept20

Ok thanks everyone....Feeling like a total idiot now 🙄 I've obviously massively overdone it.

When I left the hospital I said to the doctors and midwife "what can I and cant I do after after a section?" And they said "just don't lift stuff!" That was it. I was out of hospital 24 hours after the EMCS even with a 1.5 litre blood loss. So I just went with it. Obvs I did some research about what I could do, but obviously I didnt do enough.

You aren't the idiot, it's our society- CS is a choice, women's pain is minimised, being pregnant isn't an illness, bounce back after labour etc.

CS is major surgery, needing a major recovery period.

It sounds like you overdid it; with my first section I overdid it at 4/5 weeks and had to start taking painkillers again for the pain and the GP told me off for overdoing it. With my second I took it very easy and didn’t have the same issues. 6 weeks is a very short amount of time; I started exercising again at 3 months and my stomach still twinged when doing abs and even at 8 months it’s sore if my toddler accidentally kicks me in the tummy

Also the midwife said to me that the recovery is not dissimilar to a hysterectomy and no one would expect someone to look after a newborn day and night after that

op this is quite normal, l had 2 c- sections, each time it took several months before l could exercise, and a full year before l felt back to nornal. However l lost the excess weight by upping my vegetable intake, and cutting the sugar from my diet (l lost almost 2 stone ...mostly cake and chocolate in my case !!)

Please don't force your body, if it hurts you are doing too much.

I think the main point really is that there is a huge variation in recoveries. Also emergency sections are usually tougher to recover from. One person may be going on long walks and back to normal in days, for some it takes weeks, and for others months.

In don't think that society minimises the recovery, if anything, I think it's the opposite, that society makes recovery out to be a lot harder than it often is (it varies but I have known women drive home from the hospital, for example), whereas the reality is that it's a lot more varied in both directions.

@LolaSmiles

You're really overdoing things. That's why it's hurting.

Yes I agree with the above. I did walking but took it slow and not too much, just normal around the house stuff and then out to the shops, cafe's or whatever. I recovered super quick, I was at a wedding a week after, still sore then but took it easy.

Mine still hurts if it gets squashed or poked by a kid. 'Baby' is nearly 5

A hysterectomy has the same external incision and means 12 weeks off work, even if you have an office job. They are both big ops!

Women keep getting fed this line that a csection is no big deal. It is. You have to think in terms of months in terms of initial recovery and the reality is that you may experience issues for the rest of your life. I’ve Btdt. Sure there are some women who bounce right back, but there are plenty who will deal with it forever.

GlowingOrb
I agree and it's not helped by the big pats on the back given out for 'bouncing back'.

There's mums on a running forum I'm in who are determined to get wow points for running 5km within 4 weeks of a c section. There's almost a weird obsession with congratulating women for acting like vaginal birth ot c sections are no big deal (the whole 'I had a c section, drove myself home from hospital 24 hours later and was running round the park with the kids by day 7' thing).

Thanks everyone! There are (as always) some very mixed comments here.

I'm not gonna lie, this whole idea of people just "bouncing back" is making me feel extremely pathetic, like I haven't done enough to help myself? I'm actually working during the babys naps and trying to look after the baby and do the housework in the in between times, but I still feel a bit like I've failed because my section scar still really hurts 😭

Where are you getting this pressure to ‘bounce back’ from, OP? If you had had another type of abdominal surgery, would you be expecting to ‘bounce back’? Would you think someone who’d had a hysterectomy was pathetic for not doing CrossFit easily six weeks after surgery?

Take it easy. I set back my CS healing by having to carry a pushchair up and down a lot of steps to my London flat.

Take the pressure off yourself, imagine if your partner had had major abdominal surgery, would you expect him to be doing everything you're doing 6 weeks later? Unfortunately mine still twinges 8 years later, it is a major injury and my body's never forgotten it.