C Section next week

[HappyForRainbow]

Scheduled for a C section next week due to low lying placenta and previous sexual assault.

AIBU to ask for your stories of section and recovery? Or any tips you have for me to prepare.

I also don't think I want to BF - any tips on preventing milk/the large painful breasts part?!

Take the pain relief religiously - even if you don't feel like you need it at least for the first four days as once it kicks in and you feel really sore it's not nice!

Get up and about as soon as you can and often.

Pack HUGE pants. I thought mine were big but they still sat on my scar. You need old granny type pants that will come up to your belly button!!

Don't lift anything heavier than the baby and try not to hoover. That hurt more than anything else I did!

Ask for help in the hospital - I didn't and the nurses got really cross. That's what they ar there for. They will change the baby in the night and pass him to you for feeding if you are too sore to get up. So don't struggle.

Our nurses kept wanting to take ds off for a cuddle so I could sleep etc but I just couldn't let them!! 😂

I've had two elective c sections in the last 3 years. My experience both times was very positive. The medical staff were excellent and the procedure was calm and quick (it took 50 mins from start to finish for both of mine and most of that is stitching you back up again). Don't listen to that other poster - it is major surgery. There is pain and the recovery can be tough. However, it is manageable and it is made easier if you:

1. Get up and moving as soon as you can, even if it's just a few steps. Doing this really helps get you back on your feet faster.

2. Prepare for trapped wind! The surgery shuts down your digestive system. This leads to trapped wind, which can be super uncomfortable (it bothered me more than the pain from the incision). Chew gum and drink peppermint tea to get things going again. Do not eat loads before or after the surgery. Take stool softeners.

3. Pack a nightie, not pyjamas. You'll have a catheter in for the first 12 hours or so, which doesn't work if you're wearing trousers.

4. Ensure you take the pain medication when they tell you to. It can be easy to forget in the whirlwind of newborn life, so set an alarm on your phone to remind you.

5. Have a nice hot shower as soon as you can after the procedure - I did so the following day. It will make you feel human again.

6. Have people around to help you. You won't be able to do much in the first few days after the procedure.

That's it, I think. Oh, have your partner take pictures (if the medical team let you). We have some amazing ones of my DCs coming out.

Good luck!

xxx

I had my second section 7 weeks ago, it was amazing!!! Super chilled. Was up walking around after about 6 hours. Driving after a couple of weeks. Don’t have to roll to side to get up as of the last couple of weeks. My first wasn’t quite as straightforward but still a far far quicker recovery than my vaginal birth.

Re boobs, I did find the ole cabbage leaf trick helped a lot!

Good luck and enjoy!

Lots of good recovery tips already so just to add a couple of 'during' tips 😊

They angle the bed during the op slightly, only a little but it feels weird at first!

Let the anaesthesiologist (they'll be right by you and monitoring you) know if you feel nauseous, shaky or anything as they can tweak meds stuff (or get someone else too anyway)

Later I had the catheter removed and was asked to try standing up, except (whilst it makes sense now!) the nurse didn't warn me that blood had likely pooled in me so as I stood up, the paltry hospital sani pad never stood a chance and the pooled up blood just went all on the floor 🤦🏼‍♀️

A section is major abdominal surgery, often with a very straightforward recovery — mine definitely was. The lesson to take from that ideally wouldn’t be that a section isn’t ‘real’ major surgery, but that modern medicine is amazing and recovery from major surgery is often easy and quick. Plenty of people trivialise it because it’s for women but we needn’t join in.

Good luck Op. I know you must be nervous but so excited too!

With a c sec i echo what others have said, loose comfy clothes, nothing tight around your waist band. Also slip on shoes.
Also don't rush to do things, even if you feel able to lift more or do more than you should try not too as you will still be recovering.

You've said you arent planning to breast feed, were you planning to express and feed your colostrum tho?

I forgot to say in my earlier post - if you want to help the scar heal nicely, you can buy silicon gel to rub on it or silicon sheets which you stick over it. This helps to minimise scarring, especially raised scarring, in case that's something you're worried about. You can't use it till you've had the sutures out, which they usually do after about a week. I used the silicon gel after my second c-section and the scar from that c-section is so much fainter versus the scar from my first one when I didn't use it.

I had a planned section 6 months ago, was absolutely thrilled with it - I know everyone is different but I found it so calm and loved that they talked you through it so no big surprises. Recovery was totally fine for me, no issues at all with stairs, getting out of beds etc. First 3 days are tender and you do have to be careful but once I was home I really found it ok, was able
to do a lot with baby and cook, etc. My sister had a natural birth 2 weeks before me and took much longer to recover. Just sharing my experience as you can be lucky, in case you’re worried it’s inevitable you’ll be in bits (I know I was shitting it!)
best tips I have are to get a low stool/box for using the bathroom to put your feet on - really helps take the pressure off! And if you need to cough/sneeze etc press a pillow against your scar and it makes it much less painful. Best of luck!

Granny pants are a must and some comfy clothing nothing tight.
Take your pain medication on time.
Move as often as you can but take it slow.
Getting up from the sofa or getting in and out of bed will probably be difficult and sore again take it slow.
Have everything you and baby needs close by and easy to reach so you don't need to stretch or bend down.

@Magicfeet11 arent you patronising 😂😂

I’ve had two CS. First was emergency and second was elective.

they’re painful OP and it is major surgery with the added bonus of a baby to look after while you’re recovering. But you will recover over the course of days or weeks. Don’t over do it and feed your baby exactly how you want to feed them. I bottle fed too and loved it. I’ve never been interested in breast feeding. Just stick to your guns if that’s what you want. Baby will thrive however you choose to wed.

plenty of BIG knickers. Primark do great big pants and I bought black as well so they wouldn’t stain easily.

agree with pp about fizzy juice. Made that mistake in recovery after second CS because I wanted something sugary and vomited it everywhere 🫣

it’ll be ok OP. No doubt you’ll be a bag of nerves beforehand but in my experience the anaesthetist is great at chatting to you and keeping your mind off it while you can feel them rummaging.

good luck!

Good luck OP - I had an emac with my first and will be having and elective or emergency C-section with this one depending on how things go. Also have low lying placenta and p-prom.

loads of good advice here but drink so much more fluid then you think to keep everything moving and help with doing a poo.

I would refuse coideine this time around because it made me really constipated and I could not push. Was agony and took so much lactulose to sort out! Used to be in the loo so long the nurses would wonder if I had left!

Hope you have a lovely birth op! Xx

I had an EMCS and it was really quite lovely. I was very active during pregnancy so don’t know if that helped me bounce back but I really didn’t find it painful at all. I was walking to the pub and back by day 3.

Make sure you can reach everything you need from your bed. You won't be able to move your legs afterwards for some time, and you'll likely have a lot of post-operative pain preventing easy movement. So if you have a phone/book/drink/bag etcetera that you want to use in the first twelve hours, make sure you can reach it! Obviously you can buzz, but for me it was the middle of the night and the buzzers were so loud that I felt bad waking up my entire bay just to be passed my phone, but I really wanted to take some pictures of my little one and message my partner.

I've had three sections, all different recoveries. Electives were more easier than the emergency one.

If you need to lie on your side, put a pillow under your tummy to stop it dragging the stitching.

Regarding milk, a good fitting sports bra worked well for me, try a front zipping one. My milk didn't come through third section, luckily I hadn't planned on BFing.

I’ve had two and I would definitely take something with you to keep you regular. Prunes did it for me and made a huge difference with my second section!

Also try to follow the advice about scar massage. I didn’t, because I was a bit too squeamish, and really should have.

I'm 8 days post elective C-section for a giant transverse baby, yes it was painful for the first few days but I absolutely loved the experience and feel great about how things have worked out.

There's some brilliant advice on this thread and in the Childbirth forum section too. I think the only things I would add are start your laculose the week before your section (I did two a day) and then I also added two Dulcoease to the mix in the hours after my section. Stopped the laculose the day after and continuing with the two Dulcoease until my incision site is healed. Post section poo was a breeze. I was constipated during pregnancy though so if you're ok at the moment maybe don't take as many as I was 😄

I had my catheter out about six hours after my section and I could not wee into the collection pot for my absolute life. Bloody midwife hovering outside the toilet door constantly asking if I'd gone yet so she could measure it. I texted my partner from inside the bathroom and told him to get rid of her. I'd been guzzling water like there was no tomorrow, filled three huge catheter bags and was stuck with a super full bladder. I popped a load of my peppermint capsules that I was taking for wind and put the mushy mess into the collection pot. Made me pee!

I would take this opportunity to go around the house and anything you can't reach without reaching up/leaning/bending is soon going to be dead to you! I set up little stations everywhere of things I'd want to reach myself, put certain foods on certain cupboard shelves, organised the nursery so nothing was out of reach. My changing table is high and so is the cot bed. I bought a big wedge pillow from Amazon for bed and sofa (midwife even took the details to pass onto other ladies) and I left bottled water all over the house so if I needed a drink there's packs of it to grab.

Belly binder and compression leggings have been lifesaving along with the huge cotton high waisted knickers. I'm currently struggling with things not fitting though as everything is getting baggy as my tummy goes down so now starting to rub/not compress. Maybe stock up on the next size down so you aren't sitting in bed like I am now tracking three parcels of knickers....

Massive good luck!!

I had a c section due to low lying placenta. The first day you're spaced out on drugs and it isn't a nice feeling. They also make you sit up which you also resist. Gas pains in weird parts of your body is common so make sure they give you peppermint pills to get rid of the gas.

But after a couple of days it was fine and felt normal.

A vaginal delivery is easier though in my experience.

I breastfed mine no problem. My cesarian baby was the easiest to feed.

If your breasts are painfully engorged (whether you breastfeed or not) then put a savoy cabbage leaf in each bra cup - they're like magic.

Good luck and enjoy your baby :)

I don’t think I felt much pain at all but I took my painkillers religiously. Compared to the pain of Labour (mine was an emergency c section) it was a walk in the park.

My friend got me this which was handy www.amazon.co.uk/KY-Tech-Foldable-Rotating-Reaching-Grabbers/dp/B07S1BPTJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?adgrpid=53513191376&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhLKUBhDiARIsAMaTLnFjZJm3KAV8IJcANABUS7AcZiH5R63aBR19z00Ca-QIlus7qiaZvd8aAnIAEALw_wcB&hvadid=259148091785&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1007336&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3937241977048090958&hvtargid=kwd-299262414857&hydadcr=16910_1798546&keywords=litter+picker&qid=1653456136&sr=8-3

I had two and it was all fine, but the single worse thing about it was constipation caused by the anaesthetic. Combined with a c section wound, it's not great. The second time I was prepared. Eat loads of fibre and drink water and stock up on fibogel or similar. Good luck!

Recovery was quite straightforward for me, It's the first couple of days that were the most challenging in terms of movement and pain so you need a lot of support around you and decent pain management.

If my friend had bought me these last week I think I'd have married her 😄.

• Peppermint capsules - buy them on amazon
• Time when you are due painkillers and prompt staff if needed - you need to stay fully dosed
• be careful when you start eating again - I was told wrong info and it made me vomit - horrendous and painful

I don’t have anything helpful to add as I am also having my first c section next week (I think it’s my thread someone mentioned that’s running at the moment so I feel a bit famous 😉) but I just wanted to say best of luck! 🙂💐

Massive pants are a must, don't try and do too much too soon, ask for help, comfy baggy clothes, a non-drip coffee mug was great for hot drinks, take all the drugs.

A friend had a c-section and didn't BF so she could keep taking morphine/cocodamol so she said she didn't feel breast engorgement