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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask how soon you went home after a C-section?

131 replies

babyjellyfish · 27/10/2022 10:56

Posting for traffic.

How soon did you go home after your C-section? Would you have preferred to go home sooner or stay for longer, and why?

Interested to hear from people who had both ELCS and EMCS.

Thanks.

OP posts:
madmaxine33 · 27/10/2022 10:58

EMCS - I was in hospital for two or three nights. I can't really remember. Planned c section I was out the next day. I think these days unless there are any complications they want the bed asap. I was only too happy to oblige as the care I experienced on the maternity ward was shocking. However if you want to stay in longer, are struggling with the pain or need assistance with baby I'm sure they wouldn't turf you out so quickly.

Clariana · 27/10/2022 10:59

One emergency section I was in 2 nights, one planned, out the next day, but this was 20 years ago.

tenbob · 27/10/2022 11:01

2 ELCS
Home roughly 24 hours after both, five or take a few hours to get the discharge paperwork done
I was happy to be back in my own bed and the pain was perfectly manageable with the tablets they sent me home with

FarmerRefuted · 27/10/2022 11:05

EMCS - staying in two nights. I could have gone home in one as I felt okay but DC was very sleepy, turns out it was the codeine they were giving me for pain relief. This was before they realised some people super-metabolise it and I was basically giving DC codeine breastmilk at every feed.

ELCS - one night. Nurse asked me to stay longer as DC had been stuck and I was very bruised but I wanted to go home.

ELCS - two weeks plus a week of community care. That one didn't go so well 😕

biscuitcat · 27/10/2022 11:06

EMCS - I was in 3 nights after, though I don't know if the first one counts as I didn't get to the ward until around midnight. I could have gone home a day earlier but stayed for help with feeding - was very ready to leave when I did though!

I'm pregnant again now and planning an ELCS, hoping for a much shorter stay this time!

1994girl · 27/10/2022 11:07

Had an emergency c section at 08.05am. Came home at 5pm day after in absolute agony.

stardust40 · 27/10/2022 11:07

4 nights with emcs but baby needed blood tests for couple days. 2 nights with elcs.

Yorkshirepudding1987 · 27/10/2022 11:08

EMCS 2 days but that was because baby wouldn't feed

ELCS 30 hours.

Was glad to go home both times.

Terriblethirtytwos · 27/10/2022 11:08

ELCS one god awful night. But feeding was going really well. Stayed for three nights after vaginal delivery partly due to complications but then due to feeding issues. I had a side room that time though. I would have been out earlier if I’d been on the ward. I maintain that hell is one giant postnatal ward.

ShowOfHands · 27/10/2022 11:09

12hrs with my first (crash CS).

36hrs with my second (emcs).

ChipsAreLife · 27/10/2022 11:10

EMCS - five nights. But I had sepsis and was unwell.

ELCS 1 - 2 nights

ELCS 2 - 1 night, they couldn't get me out quick enough. I don't want to frighten you or be negative but the care I had was shit in the hospital I was glad to be home. But was back in a week later with a wound infection probably due to be being pushed to do too much too quickly!

NewHopeNow · 27/10/2022 11:11

Emergency c section 27 hours (one night).
Elective c section 24 hours (one night).

There were a lot of us who had sections that same day the second time around. I was actually the last one out of the 4 in my ward. I was the only one struggling out to the car at 24 hours, everyone else was in bed staying at least that second night. I hate hospitals!

JenniferBarkley · 27/10/2022 11:11

DC1 very straightforward EMCS, stayed two nights as was standard in my hospital.

DC2 ELCS with some complications in theatre, two nights again. It was during covid so I was offered to go home after 1 night but didn't feel ready and wanted support in case of typically difficult night two with feeding. Midwife said it was the right call, got the impression she didn't like discharging mums with c sections so quickly.

BlueBloodedBlue · 27/10/2022 11:12

DC1 7 days cos he was tiny and jaundiced abd in a cot incubator by my bed.
DC2 1 night, desperate to get out as it was 92 degrees in there!
Both ELCS

Suprima · 27/10/2022 11:13

I was gone the next morning, they gave me the option to stay longer for better pain relief but I felt very unsupported in hospital.

I had to ring the bell to get them to lift baby to me everything she needed a feed or was crying as I couldn’t do it myself due the position of the cradle and the pain I was in. This meant ringing the bell every hour which seemed to piss off the midwives and HCA - but I don’t really know what they expected me to do?

I also wasn’t allowed another pillow to help me with feeding as ‘people stole them’.

Home with DH meant I actually had someone on hand to look after me and baby.

iaminevitable · 27/10/2022 11:14

1st EMCS- 48 hours

2nd ELCS- less than 24 hours. Out of surgery 12pm, they offered for me to go home that evening but I declined, stayed the night but was discharged by 9am the next morning.

Main thing was getting up and moving asap and the catheter out

Ragwort · 27/10/2022 11:14

EMCS - six nights as DS wasn't putting on weight (no doubt due to the forceful manner in which the nurses promoted breast feeding or nothing plus a medical condition). Apart from the feeding issues I really didn't mind staying in hospital, it wasn't very busy and I had a room to myself.

Cattenberg · 27/10/2022 11:16

EMCS - 7 days. My milk was slow to come in, then DD lost too much weight and struggled to get the hang of feeding.

FindingMeno · 27/10/2022 11:16

EMCS - 2 nights
ELCS - 1 night.

The first was a crash section under GA.

Lyndsb · 27/10/2022 11:17

First section was emergency after a two day horrific induction. Nurses were no help and I begged them to let me go home at 11pm two days later.

Two planned sections and as soon as catheter was out I went home.

For me personally I wanted to go home where I was comfortable,could sleep and DH could help.

On the other hand my two SILS wanted to stay in hospital for as long as possible after giving birth (straightforward vaginal deliveries)

Bananas52 · 27/10/2022 11:18

Two nights after EMCS (with infection). I was discharged late on the third day but there was no way I was going to stay another night in that postnatal ward hell.

PoTayToes80 · 27/10/2022 11:18

ELCS at 10am, left at 4:30 pm next day.

If your hospital lets you book private rooms and you can afford it, it’s absolutely worth the money for the extra privacy and space for you and your partner. I remember feeling very peaceful when we were at the hospital, despite having had almost no sleep.

Milkand2sugarsplease · 27/10/2022 11:20

1xemcs and home within 24 hours (my choice) and really wish I'd stayed a little longer to be honest. I desperately wanted to get home to allow my other child to meet his brother (wasn't allowed to visit at that point of covid) but really found it tough going at home the first 24/48 hours.
The worst part for me was standing up from low furniture (as opposed to raising the bed to stand up in hospital) and I'd lost a lot of blood in theatre so was still very weak.

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 27/10/2022 11:22

Emcs - 10 days. First baby.

elcs - for breech home just after 24 hours

elcs - again for breech 3 days. Complications including large blood loss so had to have 3 units of blood.

thepurplewhisperer · 27/10/2022 11:23

4 nights with my planned section but baby was tiny so needed monitoring. Section was easy and had a private side room so I could sleep.

However, I had a horrific first labour with awful resulting injuries, so much worse than the section. I insisted I was discharged as soon as the catheter was removed as I was so traumatised. As soon as I'd been able to pass urine they discharged me. Looking back the hospital stay time times should have been the opposite way around.