Positive stories about C/Sections please.

[bonkerz]

Ok so i have a date set for my elective ceasarian section. 19th December.

Although i am at ease with my decision (loads of reasons for this choice and nearly all of them emotional) I need you lovely mums to give me good positive stories ONLY please.
I am aware of the long recovery time and the high risks involved with major abdominal surgery, what im after is reassurance about bonding and breast feeding etc after the birth.

TIA

I have no experience of C sections, just wanted to say good luck hun!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it

Awww bonkerz you'll find loads of positive stories on here. I too wanted to say good luck as it's elective you'll be calm and hopefully rested my advic eis get to a spa the day before for as much R&R as poss. Wish I had been able to

4 sections here, bonkerz [mad smile emoticon] - IME very worst bit physically is 1st 24 hours, after that it gets easier (but be v careful, for weeks, when you laugh or cough or sneeze! If sitting or standing either bend forward or hold cushion against scar, if lying down try to bring knees up as far as you can.)

Bonding no problem at all - not that I have anything to compare it with - 2nd delivery was under GA so I didn't see the baby for several hours, and was taken aback because she didn't look anything like her sister, it was a bit "is that mine?" for a short time but I got over that quite quickly (DH had seen her, and insisted she was ours!)

Breastfeeding rubbish but that was a combination of unsucky babies and very poor milk supply - if you have done it already I would guess you would be OK - might be slightly harder work to establish esp if new baby is a bit early but loads of people manage it successfully.

Good luck

good luck bonkerz. I had my twins by csection in march this year.

I was bfeeding them both in the recovery room, right after havign them. I soon got the hang of gettign them in and out of their cots even though I was stuck in bed, and ended up keeping one in with me on the second night as he kept feedign a lot. I've had two vaginal births and it really made no difference in bonding or bfeeding whatsoever. Recovery was really straightforward too, by day two I was on jsut paracetamol. It took a few days for the tightness to go, but it really wasn't that painful.

Hi , I had CS in Jan this year. My first baby and I had no problems bonding or breastfeeding. Recovered really well and wanted to go home after 2 days. I would definately recommend taking Arnica to aid healing. Take adose before and then in the following days. I truely believe this helped as my scar wasn't sore at all after the first week

Bonkerz... I'm sure you'll be fine. After my CS, I kept wearing my maternity knickers as they gave extra support. I had absolutely no problem feeding ds and loved him to bits. Dh was very supportive and I did no housework, including washing, for weeks. He did it all because of all the bending & twisting involved with washing machine & vacuum. Actually, all the visitors were more than happy to run the vacuum around, or wash up, transfer washing to dryer etc. Although they say 6 weeks, if you follow the advise and do as little as possible, it can be quicker because you are 'forced' to take loads of rest. Good Luck (I'm sure you won't need it!)

I had an emergency C-Section - here my my story

It was a positive experience for me, even though I had a home birth planned

I am tandom breastfeeding dd (2 years) and ds. Got ds to the breast as soon as I was out of theatre. I find the more you try and relax and unwind about breastfeeding the easier it is. Relax those shoulders. I always get headaches if I tense up!

I have a homeopath and she gave me Arnica and something else for the scar. Did not need anything for trauma, but she could have given me something for that if needed.

god I loved having a section....I know that sounds mental but after having an epesiotomy with my dd ,the emergency cs I had with ds was fantastic.

i didn't have much pain at all .I revelled in the fact that I could sit down with no pain!!

Didn't affect my picking ds up at all,don't if I'm unusual but I actually found the recovery better with my cs than with stitched in me bits.

Don't worry you'll be fine.

THANKYOU ALL

Keep them coming, great to help put any niggles i have to rest!

Dh is at home till 9th Jan so have 3 weeks to get as much rest as is possible with a small baby and good thing is its christmas so loads of family around to help out too!!

I breast fed my son 5years ago and am aiming to do it again so its reassuring to know that a section doesnt prevent me doing that. I help my DS as soon as he came out so am a little worried about holding my daughter but i know she will be close etc and DH will have the priviledge of the first cuddle which is fine, i have a lifetime to hold my daughter!

First C/S (elective) was calm and I was back on my feet next day .. you have good pain medication after surgery ... was on just minor painkillers by end of first week .. no problem recovery ..

Second C/S (also elective) the same really

breast-fed both children in the delivery suite with no problems .. and don't understand the bonding question at all .. so it must be ok right?

Great experience for me. Janh is right the first 24 hrs are the worst. I breast fed and bonded well with dd (cs2). Breast feeding and bonding were difficult with ds (cs1) so I don't think it's anything to do with the cs, just different babes. Good luck!

I opted for an elective CS and it was the fabbiest experience. But I did plan it to the letter

My top tips would be........

1. It's your birth . Yes, you are giving birth . Tell them what to do - don't fancy having the baby weighed for a few hours? Want him to wear your clothes instead of the hospital garb? Want your DH to tell you the sex? etc etc. Plan, plan, plan. Ask if one of the nurses could take photos instead of your DH - my DH's hands were shaking too much. We have a great picture of DS when he was 2 minutes old, still covered in all that goo, . The nurses are absolute pros at this - know all the best angles etc.

2. Theatre is a cold place, and a bit sterile which can be a bit of a shock. But if you smile, chat to the nurses etc then everyone lightens up and a jolly atmosphere can happen. There is no reason why the baby can't be handed on a towel to your DH then cuddled into you so you can see him naked and covered in all that baby goo - you'll be amazed that it doesn't smell!!!!

3. take your own Ibuprofen (400mg tabs) and paracetamol. You cannot rely on the nurses to be on time to dish them out and it is very very* impt to stay on top of the inflammation for 36 hours (take the max dose for both).

4. When you feel the spinal wearing off, start 'banging' your feet up and down on the bed.

5. Approx 6 hours after the baby is born, get on your feet - just stand with support. if that's OK, get up and walk a few hours later. You'll feel terribly anxious, but the sooner you walk, the faster your recovery will be.

6. Drink, Drink, Drink for the first 24 hours. Fruit juices will help get your bowels going. Do this and you should wee and poop within 24 hours of surgery.

7. Don't feel pressurised into feeding in the recovery area. Your sprog might actually fancy a snooze for a wee while! (DS didn't get fed for 4 hours, latched on like a pro and stayed there for the next.......well he's still there at 15mo!!!)

8. Don't be in too much of a rush to get the catheter out. I actually quite liked not having to run to the loo the first night!!

Don't listen to people who harp on about being 'cheated' from a 'natural' birth. babies don't give a stuff about how they are born - save your energy for the best start in life - breastfeeding

I had an emergency C-section after a 23 hour labour, and the C-section was the best bit of the whole experience! I was breastfeeding within half an hour after the operation and had no problems either breastfeeding or bonding. In fact I think we bonded better, as the moment of birth was such a pain-free relief compared to what had gone before.

My operation was at 8.30pm, and by mid-morning the next day I was up and walking (with assistance). I stayed in hospital for 5 nights but that was partly through choice as I liked being looked after and having all my meals brought to me! My stomach was sore and I couldn't sit up in bed without some pain for a couple of weeks, but I'd rather have that than vaginal pain.

C-sections get a bad press but I loved the experience of calmly having the baby delivered for you, and I am going for an elective next time. I met a mother of a 14-month-old this morning, who is still having physiotherapy for the injuries caused by her vaginal birth, complete with full episiotomy, incontinence and painful sex. So don't worry about your decision to have a C-section - yes there are risks, but vaginal births have risks too and they are not ones I would want to take.

EXCELLENT tips, thanks,

Just had a thought. I know what to pack for a normal delivery and have done my bag and a bag for baby BUT should i pack a few things to take in to theatre with me ie vest babygrow etc and also what is advisable to wear after c/s? i take it loose baggy trousers are the order of the day? Also is talc a good idea to keep scar dry or not?

my decision to have an elective was not taken lightly. I had a vaginal delivery with DS and it was horrid! I ended up with a ventousse delivery, episiotomy scar which was stitched too tight and piles! Not very comfortable after as you can imagine! I dont want to go through that again and also doctors think SPD i have with this baby is due to ventousse delivery and trauma after DS birth 5 years ago!
Emotionally i am shot to pieces after losing my mother 6 weeks ago and also 2 babies in less than a year! If anything occurred which meant my baby was in distress this time i know i would completely flip and be a wreck so am looking forward to the calm delivery!

I had emergency c/s with ds1 and I had no problems afterwards with bonding and feeding.

The day after he was born, dh had to pop out and I was lying alone in a private room at the hospital feeling bad - nauseous, period type cramps, restricted movement due to c/s stitches - anyway, ds started crying and there was no-one around so I manouevred myself off the bed, hobbled to the cot, somehow bent to pick him up and took him back to the bed where I sat cuddling him.

And, I'm not exaggerating, I suddenly felt absolutely fine. It was like all my pain, sickness etc just disappeared as soon as I held him. It must have been something hormonal.

Don't worry at all, I don't see why having c/s should have any negative impact at all on bonding or feeding.

hi, i've had 2 c/s one emergency and one elective and will be having my second elective next year.

even though with the emergency i felt crap, absolutley knackered as had been in labour for so long before they did the section, bonding and breastfeeding was no problem, in fact he took to it too well and took me a year to get him off! LOL!

with ds2, the elective section was great, it was a bit like the night before christmas, we finshed the nursery, made up the bedding in the crib, packed my bag, went to bed. i couldn't get to sleep at first becaus ei was nervous and excited, but had a relativley peaceful night, got up had a lovely long shower in my own bathroom, took a taxi to the hospital, checked in, had my spinal, half an hour later had ds2, up to recovery breastfed him, up to ward, up and about by my bed around lunchtime ish (ds2 born at just after 9a.m), and felt great, so much so that with me nagging they let me go home two days after. no problems. breastfed ds2 for 9 months.

My CS was fine, by day 5 I was walking to the pub! The only thing I'd change is that I didn't hold dd in the delivery room and it was about 90 mins after giving birth that I held her. It was an emergency CS and I was a bit dumbstruck by the whole experience (I went in for routine monitoring as I was overdue, within 30 mins of the trace being done dd was being pulled out of me!) If I was going for an elective next time round I'd be more assertive about holding her.

Saying that though, it wasn't a major trauma for me and didn't affect our bonding and I bf for 13 months.

Bonkerz, good luck with your c-section. The fact that it's an elective one will give you plenty of time and opportunity to prepare yourself. I had an emergency section with ds1, as he was discovered breech when I was in labour. Even though things were stressful at the time, and are still a bit hazy now, I was very happy with the whole experience. Spinal worked fine, dh could hold the baby almost as soon he was lifted out, and all three of us were bonding in the recovery room afterwards. Breastfeeding was fine, though a bit challenging at first to find a good position (try feeding while lying down, also very relaxing: at the end of a sleep usually both ds1 and I were sound asleep). DS1 did feed in the delivery room, but this was his decision entirely: he was on my chest, and just started looking for the nipple. It was an amazing experience. I hadn't thought myself that he would want to feed after the big event of being born, but he did.
For your other questions: the baggy trousers are a good plan, and get yourself some pairs of huge pants: you want the huge ones that don't have elastic band low over your belly, as they will irritate and be painful on your scar (will be just under the top of your pubic hair). You won't need to bring stuff into the theatre like baby clothes or anything, they will put one of those hospital vests on the baby, and wrap baby in a blanket. You'll have plenty of time to dress baby properly on the postnatal ward afterwards. I am not sure how long usually you have to stay in hospital, but with me I was supposed to go home on a Wednesday, after section on Monday; but since baby developed resperatory problems, we had to stay for a week in the end.

Good point about the pants, also don't trust your dh to buy them! I sent mine out to look for 'big pants', he came back with a thong in a size 20!

Hahaha, ROFL DissLocated, men eh?!!

emergency cs after 3 days of induction failing so it was middle of night/ hadn't slept for 3 days etc... Despite not being entirely with it and dd being a high risk baby (IUGR so was tiny) I held her within a very short time (as soon as they had done initial checks). Bf-ing couldn't be established but this was more to do with her size and problems rather than the cs.

I was up walking at 3 pm (about 12 hours after) and was only that long due to catheter and the fact that i was catching up on sleep. Within a couple of days was arguing with the nurses as I didn't need all the painkillers they were giving me. Was moving around at home almost as normal and knocking at my doctors door at 4 weeks begging to be allowed to drive.

Worst bit for me was my community midwife spotting me in the ward the day after I'd had dd and her pulling my trousers out to look at what pants I was wearing and declaring them not fit for someone who had had a cs as not big enough . So get huge ones that ocme up to your armpits and definitely take Arnica, I was also recommended vitamin c with zinc to help healing which I did take too.

I would like a VBAC if/when there's a next time but if I ended up with a c-section it would not bother me bar having to stay in hospital longer !

oh another tip - my flight sock things they give you when you go in to theatre got a bit bloody and dirty so I asked for some more and was told I couldn't have any cos they were too expensive so if you can get some more before going in that would be a good thing...

I had an elective cs with dd, and then an emergency cs with ds (had placenta praevia, knew I'd be having a cs at some point but thought it would be 6wks later!).

They were both fine and recovery wasn't too bad - easier with the second one, strangely enough.

Top tips:

they'll probably want you to go in the night before but you don't need to

be prepared to wait - emergencies will get priority over you in the theatre

ask if you can have photos taken (my hosp wouldn't let us ) and ask to see your dd straight away

rehearse the phrase "I've had major surgery you know" and use it a lot. No hoovering for at least a year. Milk it for all its worth.

ignore anyone who says you can't drive for 6 weeks - you can drive as soon as you feel you could do an emergency stop