C section what happens??

[laura6032]

Due to low lying placenta, looks like I'll get having a section.

Can anyone tell me what it's like?? Do they book you in before your due date, due to my age they advised me not to go past due date. When do they tell you the date, how long were you in hospital for afterwards? Was your recovery OK??

Thank you in advance x

I had an EMCS after 3 days labour so my experience is very different but be prepared that theatre will be very busy with lots of different staff.

Our trust normal does electives at 39 weeks.

Hello
I can’t help with the first bit as my c section was after a failed induction so I didn’t get given a date as such though I believe they like to book you in around39 weeks or so.
The actual c section was lovely and calm. I prepared a play list with lots of songs myself and my husband liked - it was suggested by my surgeon and helped me to relax. They brought me in and gave me a spinal tap - very strange! I couldn’t feel my legs or lower body but was aware of it. Weird but not awful.
Screen put up and I’d asked them to talk to me throughout as I tend to like the feeling of control 😂
After feeling a bit like they were doing the washing up in my tummy for 5 minutes they said baby was ready to be born and asked if I’d like to see - they dropped the screen and there he was. The rest passed in a blur as I had a baby! I was allowed skin to skin which they did after doing his Apgar score and I think it took about 20 minutes to stitch me up.
Recovery immediately afterwards was fine except for them forgetting to empty my catheter! Took a few hours to get feeling back in my legs but felt like pins and needles.
Best advice I can give for recovery after that is to stand as straight as you can as quickly as you can. It hurts. I can’t lie. It’s major abdominal surgery. But it isn’t impossible. I was discharged the next day and home with my beautiful boy.
They ask you not to lift anything heavier than baby for 6 weeks which wasn’t really possible though I did try to be mindful. I’d recommend a bedside crib which swings away like the Chico next to me if you haven’t bought it already. I had a snuzpod and had to shuffle down past it to get out of bed which was sore!
I healed really well and was driving and things quite quickly afterwards- our insurance said I didn’t need to leave it 6 weeks but could just do it as soon as I felt ready to do an emergency stop.
I was out walking around the day after getting home and believe that helped me recover so quickly but it’s so important to listen to your body.
Good luck!! I loved my experience and with 4 more weeks to go with baby 2 am considering an elective this time round

For my elective section, it was booked in well in advance. I had to go in fasted at 6:30am I think it was. Then it was a very long , hungry wait.

The theatre staff were lovely, (I was quite anxious) everyone came & introduced themselves, and the anaesthetist came for a chat about medical history etc.

The theatre was quite busy with people, but in a calm and efficient sort of way.
They dropped the screen so I could see baby born.
I stayed in for two nights. I had been going to go the next day as I hate being in hospital, but actually felt I needed the rest and stronger pain relief.

You should see a physio before you go home regarding looking after yourself.

Good luck.

I had an elective and it was the best thing ever (first DC was emergency and a totally different experience). A calm and controlled environment - everyone super happy as about to welcome a baby into the world. 39 weeks. Recovery was fine - I was able to get out of bed within 12 hours and the support throughout the night was incredible. EBF and never needed to ask husband to get up to get the baby. I felt like I could have driven at 2 weeks but didn't until 5.
Congratulations on your new baby once they arrive. I hope it all goes as smoothly for you too.

I've had an emergency and three elective. Well my second was meant to be elective but ended up going into labour at 37 weeks so they did it then.
The others went to plan, all straightforward. Had a few mild complications with my third section but was home in three days. Fourth section went well after them warning me of further complications but it was actually my best and recovered well. I was sterilised after the birth.

Mine was kind of an emergency but not, so every morning a slot was booked for me. The surgery was fine, the needle in the back was slightly sore, and the cannula in the arm/hand stung but was ok. The actually birth was pain free and calm (even though he was very ill). During the procedure I felt very sick and I told the nurse and they popped something in me and I was fine. I didn't really get to see him for hours as I was in recovery for a long time. I felt very sick after and was confused. Like I was drunk. I felt well enough to eat some biscuits and a cup of tea and then I was sick all down myself. So be prepared to feel a bit out of it. I think I saw my son about. 6 hours later, my husband wheeled me down to see him, he actually made me go (I felt to ill) because he was scared he'd die and I wouldn't get to see him alive. Very sad and stressful time. He did survive though! Getting from standing to lying position was the hardest. Your womb going back into position very painful. All in all if recommend a c section.

Ive had an emergency and planned section. The planned was very calm, I was in hospital for 8am sat playing cards with DH while I waited. All staff were lovely,only all introduced themselves and explained their role. They encoraged me to chat to them. After cannula went into theatre where spinal block was given. Once I'd convinced them I was numb they started. I felt nausea so they gave me some medicine to counter it. As KTD they gave me the option to see baby being born. I didn't get skin to skin as she was unwell and went with my DH to NICU I was stitched up while the anesthetist chatted to me as u was alone then DH returned to me with video of dd while I was taken to recovery. Took a while to get feeling back. I was shuffling 12 hoes later discharged less than 24 hours. Additional time in hospital is wise for first baby, not so important for second perhaps. Hey walking asap. My recovery was far better long term second time round but harder initially as I did more earlier. It does hurt initially but I was off all pain killers fairly quickly.

Following as has first baby vaginally but looking to be in the same position as you op and have no idea what to expect!

My first was an EMCS after failed induction, so that was all rather rushed as baby heart beat dropped. I don't remember being introduced to any of the staff and there wasn't much chit-chat during the surgery. Once DD was born, she and my DH were taken to another room and I was I sewn up and then left on my own for 20 minutes, due to a portering changeover! I was in for 2 days and had a good recovery. Walked around the park with the pram at 3 days post recovery and was driving within 2 weeks.

My second was an elective and I met with the consultant at 36 weeks where I was given the date. As an elective, the experience was completely different. Went in at 7am, and then went up at 10am for the op. I was introduced to all the staff, and as it was 20th December we had Christmas carols on the radio during the op and everyone was talking about their Christmas plans. Very chilled and a truly lovely experience. DD and DH stayed with me whilst I was sewn up and we all moved to the recovery room together and had 30 mins of skin-to-skin before moving up to the ward. I was out three days later (DD had a slight gastric problem, otherwise they said I could have come out the following day). I had a battery operated suction wound dressing for a couple of weeks, which was designed to reduce wound infection. Again, walking well within a few days and driving within a fortnight.

I do consider myself lucky, as I do know others whose recoveries haven't been as straightforward.

Should also mention - when you have the spinal and lie down on the operating table, they tilt the table to the side slightly, to put less pressure on your heart. As you don't have any feeling in your lower body, you truly feel like you're about to slide right off the table - you won't

My god, the worst bit for me was when they slid me from the operating table to the bed in wheels and I honest to god thought they'd drop me. Nothing NOTHING prepares you for the total helplessness of not feeling anything past your waist.

I have had 3 elective c sections. All lovely and calm and a positive experience. You have to be aware that you might get ‘bumped’ depending on how many emergencies they get in. Ds1 was bumped for a whole day then was the last elective of the next day. I was very hungry! With ds3 I sat with the consultants to choose the day as I wanted to be home for ds1’s birthday!

I took a cd in each time and it was lovely to listen to the music I had chosen. You can see as little or as much as you want and similar for dh. They also aim for skin to skin as soon as possible. I found breastfeeding hard with ds1, a bit slow with ds2 but no problems with ds3. I asked to see the breastfeeding consultant for advice on different positions and that really helped.

Food was key for me, I had very low blood pressure so getting food and drink as soon as possible really helped. I took snacky food for afterwards and straws.

Getting up and moving as soon as possible is also really important. Having a shower, getting dressed and putting on a bit of make up really helped me feel better. Slow and steady is the way to go. Don’t push yourself too hard though - accept all the painkillers offered and all the help you can at home.

Thanks for your reply guys, must say am very nervous, ds was a forceps delivery so lots stitches then, had epidural, one of the health visitors told me at the time that forceps can be worse to recover from that section. Suppose we'll see. Not looking forward, but your Def putting my mind at ease x

Definitely be gentle with yourself with recovery. Do not vacuum!!
Sorry, I pushed myself far too hard after my first (traumatic emcs) and wasn’t well at all.
My elective was, whilst not what I would have chosen, an absolute breeze in comparison. But I still needed to be careful. Listen to your body. Some people will recover really fast, others take longer, and that’s okay.
Also the physios will give you advice about getting up holding a cushion over your stickers. I never worked out how to do that whilst holding a baby, there never seeemd to be enough hands.