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

[babyjellyfish]

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.

I went into labour 3am - got into hospital for 6am - already dilated at 4cm - it was decided by 10am that I'd have to have an emergency c section and by 11am my baby was born.
I went home 11pm the next day (although looking back I should have insisted on staying an extra night)

EMCS earlier this year, was in hospital for 2 nights afterwards. I was glad to be getting home to my own bed and family support.

Semi emergency c section with late prem - one night in hospital

EMCS - I was home just over 36 hours after. I went in on the Weds for an induction, had DD at 1am Thurs via EMCS, was home by 3pm on the Friday. I did push to go home though as I hated the postnatal ward.

ELCS after a long failed induction. Operation at 6 on the Tuesday evening and home Friday afternoon. I had very low blood pressure and had to have oxygen after my second and DD and I struggled with breastfeeding so they kept us in a bit longer.

I was lucky I was next to the loo on the ward because I really struggled to mobilise and had a lot of pain the first couple of days. I felt much better after I got home to my own bed.

Emergency C section. 15 hours. They were busy and my husband is(was) a performance husband (and then father) he was so helpful and caring for the 2hrs on the ward the midwives thought I'd be better at home with him. I did everything for him and the baby, had constipation for over a week. Was in agony and failed to establish breastfeeding. And it is only just starting to stop hurting a year and a half later.

I don't recommend it.

EMCS and I was in for 2 nights. The care was shocking, worst nights of my life. I wanted to come home sooner but they wanted to give me more intravenous antibiotics, my husband convinced me to stay in for them but I wish I hadn’t.

Emergency Section, 3 nights officialy but stayed an extra one because baby was in intensive care and the doctor wanted us to leave at the same time.

Next day both times, both ELCS

C-section because of gestational hypertension but wasn't in labour so more akin to an ELCS - delivered at 10pm on the Saturday, went home at 11am on the Monday. Would've been fine to leave on the Sunday night but the minimum required stay was 24 hours and given the late arrival time we rolled on to the next day. I had a super easy recovery generally though.

I had my C-section on a Monday, and was discharged the following Monday. I was ready for discharge on the Friday but the ward didn't get the paperwork sorted in time so I ended up languishing in there, bed blocking, for the weekend, until they could get someone to finalise/sign off the paperwork on the Monday.

One night.

I was in 2 nights with my planned section. However I haemorrhaged and spent the night on HDU. I also had some issues with my blood, because mine and baby's crossed over at a higher than normal level.

1st: EMCS at about 11am Friday after a three-day back to back labour 🤦‍♀️ Out Monday afternoon but I had had a fever and DD infection markers and jaundice so was having to go to NICU for antibiotics.

Would have liked to have stayed longer tbh as I was physically and mentally wraught and it was nice being looked after!

2nd: ELCS at about 1pm Wednesday and out about 4pm Friday. Would have gone home the following day, but I had been taking codeine for SPD and sciatica and they were concerned DS was showing signs of withdrawal (he wasn't).

Would have liked to have gone home earlier as DD was only 22 months and was missing her (and childcare was becoming complicated).

ELCS. Arrived at 7am, baby born at 10.30 and went home the next day at 5pm - the soonest I could get someone to finalise the paper work. It was much nicer being at home and the community midwife turned up the next morning which was great.

There was a sad safeguarding situation in the bay opposite mine and her violent partner had shown up mid-afternoon, I had no interest in having him a metre away any longer than I had to.

Emergency 1983 10 days, emergency 1987 10 days but son in special care.
Elective 1994 3 days.
Daughter has had 2 elective no complications 24 hours.

Oh and we had our own room both times, if I had been on an open ward I may have thought differently the first time!

Depends if emergency or elective. I think emergency can have a longer and/or tougher recovery time. I have had two elective c sections. Both times I had the operation at 7am spent two nights in hospital. I had my c sections privately and they tend to keep you in for a little longer than the NHS, however I think it would be tough to send you home much earlier. I think if you plan for two nights, that should cover it.

Emergency, home about 22hrs after.
Horrific, I was absolutely nowhere near ready.

EMCS was two nights, ELCS was also two nights - it would've been 24hrs but DS was jaundiced and very grunty, so the paediatrician wanted him on preventative antibiotics while they did an infection screen. The screen results came back clear and we were discharged soon after. Had he had an infection, they were saying we'd have been kept in for a week 😫😫

1996 EMCS 6 nights plus 1 pre birth - delayed departure was due to feeding issues. midwives were amazing helping me establish BF
1998 EMCS 5 nights - again midwives amazing
2000 ELCS 4 nights - shocking lack of care!

Good question. I'm asking because I will be giving birth in France where a five day hospital stay is pretty standard. Assuming my recovery is no worse than it was last time, which was unplanned C-section after a failed induction, I will want to go home sooner and might need to advocate for myself.

3 nights with 1st EMCS
2 nights with 2nd ELCS

Ah ok that makes sense! Firstly can I just check whether you’ve actually been to the hospital where you would be staying? In my experience most French hospitals are light years ahead of English ones in terms of rest and recuperation after surgery. You may find if you look at the hospital that you’re less appalled by a five day stay! If you think you’ll definitely want to come home sooner than the other thing I’d recommend unless you’re a fluent French speaker is having someone who can advocate for you with doctors and nurses, obviously after giving birth you may be quite emotional and it may be better to have someone else make the case for you (either a partner or a very good friend who can speak fluent French). I’d also actually avoid making the argument that things are done differently in the UK as French doctors may have a very low opinion of the NHS and that argument tends not to carry much weight anyway. Much better to look at your own case and explain your own situation clearly (like I have kids at home, my husband will help me etc).

Emergancy Csection 23hrs
elective with major pph - 24hr (during lockdown)

glad to be out both times tbh, being in hospital sucks