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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

C-section due to fibroids & transverse position

3 replies

QuizteamBleakley · 25/09/2010 17:17

Hi, am after some of your experiences & thoughts.

I'm 30wks with 1st DC and have been told that, due to a number of fibroids (largest 11cm) the baby is laying above in a transverse position so I will have to have a c-section. The location & size of the largest one means that I'll have to have the incision higher 'than usual'. What I'm after is your experiences; specifically how long did your recovery take? What advice do you have? Any great ideas or things you'd wish you'd one?

TIA Smile

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ShowOfHands · 25/09/2010 17:29

I had an emergency cs.

The cs itself is not bad at all and I had an emergency one.

My advice would be to bear in mind that there are things you can request during the cs so that you retain an element of control. So if you'd like music on or the lights a bit dimmer, or the screens lowered or to find out the gender yourselves etc. You can request skin to skin and ask them not to clean the baby up too much or dress him/her.

I do wish I'd had the time to think about how I'd have liked it to happen. Because you can have some say over what occurs.

I think most CSs are done with a spinal block as opposed to an epidural. If you have a choice though, I'd opt for a spinal. But it's worth looking into the pros and cons of both. The spinal starts to wear off very quickly indeed and I was able to walk a couple of hours later. But with an epidural sited, you do have pain relief right there. You are not mobile though and this can prolong your stay.

Get up and move about as soon as possible. You may feel tender but try and straighten up, don't stoop and remember that moving around aids recovery.

Ask for painkillers if you need them. I didn't and took nothing at all. But there's no shame in needing them.

You can be discharged on day 2. Day 1 is the day of the cs. So dd was born at 10pm ish and I was discharged 12hrs later. I was actually out before people who had straightforward vaginal deliveries at the same time as my em cs. But if you want to stay in a bit longer, obviously that's fine too.

Ask about what sort of stitches you will have (depends on the surgeon usually) and what they will look like/when they will come out etc.

It's normal to feel gassy and bloated afterwards. Peppermint tea is good.

I found the physical recovery very straightforward indeed.

That's all I can think of for now but I'll type more as it comes to me.

Oh don't hoover afterwards. V bad for your abdomen.

QuizteamBleakley · 25/09/2010 20:03

Thanks so much SOH - I appreciate all that. Can I tell DP that hoovering, cooking, dusting and all forms of housework are out and that I must remain supine, watching The Wire for several weeks?! Grin

OP posts:
ShowOfHands · 25/09/2010 20:50

Oh you must.

I chose the Pride and Prejudice DVD (BBC version), dinnerladies, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Black Books and Friends. I needed to establish bfing and rest my poor, aching wound. It took around 2 years iirc.

Seriously, you will be told to take it very easy indeed. Absolutely no hoovering and all other housework must only be attempted for 5 minutes at a time and no more than once a fortnight. There's a law somewhere.

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