Could someone explain exactly what happens with a c-section, before, during, after...

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

Latest scan says the DC3 is still breech, has been all the way along, now 35 weeks. Have an appointment to discuss options on friday with consultant. Trying to do a little looking into things and would really appreciate some real life anecdotes of sections please :)

Literally from when you walk into the hospital until after the midwife has finished visiting at home... I suffer with extreme anxiety and really NEED to know everything about what might happen to calm down so to speak

TIA

Catheters are very clever. You know that end of pregnancy feeling where you need to pee all the time as the baby constantly squishing your bladder? Well, after that ELCS and with a catheter in you won't have to get up at all for hours. I loved it! Mine was put in about 9am for both my EMCS and ELCS and taken out at 10am the next day. I refused to let them take it out until my then DP arrived to help me go to the toilet. I can be very stroppy when I need to be.

And DP helped me in the shower approx 24hrs after my sections, he wheeled DS along with us in his little plastic fish tank. I was too fragile to do it on my own and he kept me steady and passed the shampoo, towels etc.

Can see if anyone else has mentioned it but you may well get a morphine suppository once they've stiched you back up. It kept my pain at bay for about 6 hrs each time, then I had morphine tablets as the drip made me sick. They told me they were going to do it after my EMCS and just as they were wheeling me out of the operating theatre I asked them if they had done it and they said of course they had! As I was numb from the waist down I was hardly going to notice them putting it in, in fact they were very discreet about it as I was pretty alert and chatting to all of them.

I've just had a peek and my cs scar is about 1cm above my pubic bone and despite being fairly hairy it is to the top of my pubic hair, they still shaved off a couple of inches each time though.

And I found skin to skin hard after my sections, I gave up after a couple of minutes and let DP hold the baby. I was more confident once I got to the high dependency unit and could sit up with cushions and see what I was doing.

I love you lot, this is what i want from midwives and consultants, it should be mandatory to give out mumsnet details when booking in. I have been on here 7 years now and it still amazes me :) thankyou :)

The Smell!!! whats that about thats not been mentioned before....??

Not sure if it's been mentioned. Take piriton with you and pop one when the morphine starts wearing off if you get the itches. It's what the midwives will give you but you may have a to wait a couple of hours if they are busy.

Great thread and great answers. to all.

One question: did anyone else take their own painkillers into hospital? And if so are there any you especially recommend that won't clash with whatever they give you? Having had surgery before, morphine makes me sick and I know they can take ages to get a doctor to write stuff up / nurse to bring meds. I don't want to let painkillers wear off as that seems like a bad idea and hard to get pain back under control so any tips on good painkillers I can buy OTC to tide me over if they are running late?

BTW I'm the kind of person who doesn't even like taking a paracetamol, in case I sound like some crazed pill fiend :o Just hate the thought of getting lost in a busy ward and suffering unnecessarily.

When they open you up - your insides stink! Am I the only one who noticed this? DH agreed with me.... To be fair he would have pretty much agreed to anything at the time.

Sorry only read the op buy the nct do a really good book on c-sections which would be worth getting

So, you've had the op, you're lying in bed on the ward...how long until the spinal will wear off and you can stand up/walk? - I could start to feel and wiggle my toes in the recovery room so about 20 mins after the op finished (around middayish). Could have stood up and walked that evening but chose not to due to feeling a bit woozy from the the pain killers.

How long will the cathetar be left in, and why that long? Catheter removed at 0500 the next morning (they saw that I was awake sorting out DS so took the chance, doubt you'd be woken at this time!). The same way that the spinal numbs all feelings from the chest downwards, you also lose all sensation that your bladder is full or that it needs emptying. They need to make sure that you don't get overfull so hence waiting until spinal definitely worn off. I had to pee x3 into a jug to ensure that I was able to fully empty my bladder and hence had normal sensation and muscle tone back again. I was given a jug to take to the loo, pee into the jug, note how much there was, empty into the loo and report the amount to the midwives.

Surley when you first get up all that blood will have pooled inside and there will be a 'Carry' type gush... do you put pants and a pad on before you get out of bed that first time? Don't remember any gushes! You are sitting fairly upright so it does keep on coming out rather than pooling. I found it far more comfortable to sit on a pad than wear pants at least for the first night. You're fully covered with a sheet and I had the curtains around me so no issues with decency. I know it seems very intrusive having people check your pad or ask you about it, but it's really important to check that you're not losing too much blood.

Seen lots about being able to have a shower 'with help'... what kind of help are we talking, I have major issues with being seen/touched... (very mixed up youth ) I would rather really struggle than be that vunerable... will this be understood or should i talk to midwives before the op do you think? I had a shower the evening of the following day (could have been earlier that day but didn't want to miss DS1's visits etc). I felt fine to go by myself, just told the midwives when I was going in and when I came out (and I'm not even sure that I had to do that). We were told to soak the dressing covering the wound off in the shower. There are chairs in the shower room that you can sit on if necessary so I just made sure that one of these was in reach. I was a bit confused as to what to do with the baby whilst I was in the shower till I saw someone else and twigged that the cot was on wheels so I could wheel him about the ward and into the bathroom with me this also meant that I could conceal a copy of Hello to help take my mind off the first post-op poo.

By the way I know you do hear lots of horror stories about post-natal care, but I found that I had loads of support from the midwives and HCAs on the ward. I was able to do the first two nappy changes myself ( and wanted to) but after that i was starting to get a painful so I just rang and someone came to do it for me until the morning when I felt able to have a go again. I could hear the other ladies also asking for varying amounts of help from just lifting the baby from the cot to doing every change. Painkillers were handed out regularly and we were encouraged to ask for more if needed. I was asked several times if I needed any help with breastfeeding. I realise that this isn't everyone's experience but I was really happy with my post-natal care.

You can google lots of c-section scar photos. SO much variety in them. And after having a brief look most of them have cuts near the top of the hair. I did get a few ingrowing hairs but that was after a couple of weeks when the bulk of the really raw healing had happened.

And I was stupid enough to get a bikini wax 5 weeks later. What I was thinking I will never know. Nothing bad happened but it wasn't my most sensible plan as it was still pretty sore. I think I was just glad of an hour to myself .

I remember the bedbath being lovely afterwards :) my EMCS was pretty traumatic, I'm booked in for an ELCS this time :D I'd forgotten about the suppository completely.

They will keep you well topped up with painkillers, the OTC stuff is nothing compared with what they give up, without question and on demand, so don't worry. I'm the type who doesn't lime to bother anyone at all, and I got pretty good at pressing that button! In my hospital we weren't even allowed to make a cuppa.

DJ had some sports drink (powerade type stuff) ready fir me and that was bliss in the HDU. You aren't allowed fizzy drinks. Oh one thing that frightened me was my ankles started swelling up afterwards, its really normal.

I don't remember any smell at all!! But maybe that's just me.

I didn't rake any painkillers with me but my post-natal care was great. I found all the mw were really attentive. I got by on cocodamol from the hosp.

Do ask for some lactulose afterwards. And take some at least every day. Senna didn't work for me. Lactulose will keep your poo soft. You don't want to be panicking about straining with your stitches!

Okay I have been through this thread, and a couple of others, and have come up with the following list of things to get, any comments? and should i start taking any of before the day?

Floradex
Arnica Tablets
Pepper mint capsules
Lactulose
Something for leg cramps
Piriton

btw, from all the rl stories i have really 'got over' some of the issues i was having with the whole process, I am really looking forward to meeting my PLB! (Precious Last Born!)

I also took,

herbal tea, peppermint and a fennel one IIRC.
My own mug .
Sachets of soup and miso soup so I didn't have to load my stomach up with too much heavy food post op.
A nice bar of green & blacks so I could pick the odd bit of chocolate.
And my mum bought in some fresh orange juice and mineral water.

I kept my diet light the day before the CS as I had a very bad experience with constipation following my EMCS.

Prunes and dried apricots with plenty of water work loads better than lactulose for me. Plus you can keep them next to your bed and they're good for snacking on through the night.

Just do go the whole hog and have lactulose, prunes and apricots!!! Way too much laxative effect!!

Hehe, Button, yeah will have to work out which one to with

Whats this pre op thing the day before for? does it take long or is it just like an antenatal? Could I take the DC or best to ship them out?

I will stop with the question.....when hes about 42

Babydubs just to chip in on the mental health side of things...if you don't mind!

I don't have bipolar but complex PTSD resulting from a v traumatic childhood. Therefore I have similar fears about being touched, needing to feel in control etc.

With my DS I had a very long labour and EMCS. One thing I did was to put a note on my birth plan about how staff should comfort me if I had PTSD symptoms in labour and made sure all staff were aware of the diagnosis. I noted on my birth plan that I would only consent to internal exams if totally necessary due to my issues (as it happened, I had several, as they were important for my monitoring and I didn't mind them at the time). When I was helped to the shower after the op (about 8 hours after it), the nurse just stood outside the curtain and talked to me, she didn't come in with me! She helped me to walk to and from my bed.

Oddly, what I found most difficult was being touched a lot on my breasts as they tried to get my baby to suckle in the following 3-4 days in the hospital. Midwives had to manipulate my boobs and showed me how to hand express milk by squeezing my nipples etc. I wanted them to show me, because I wanted to breastfeed (I went on to breastfeed and enjoy it, mostly, until DS was nearly 2). But that and the constant intrusions of nurses coming in to check on you when you were drifting off to sleep or to monitor blood pressure etc actually got to me more than anything involved in the op.

I do recall the anaesthetist at some point during the op saying that they were about to insert a suppository in my back passage and I remember feeling a bit panicky but by the time I asked 'Why are you --' he said 'All done'.

One thing nobody's mentioned I think is that I had a weird, 'floaty' feeling every time I was drifting off to sleep for a good couple of weeks after the c-section, I think somehow it must have been related to the experience of anaesthetics.

I definitely couldn't have made a party or walk around the park the same week, but everyone heals differently, it's important not to put any pressure on yourself though - caring for the newborn at home may well be enough!

IIRC (and bear in mind I am going back almost 4yrs now) I think the pre-op is to take blood so they can get the match right if something goes wrong and you need a transfusion. Also possibly to check iron levels and whatever other clever things they can test blood for. And you'll probably be measured for some fetching anti-blood clot socks and possibly weighed. Then the usual blood pressure test too.

I just had my pre-op and it did take a couple of hours (including waiting) as I saw a midwife and an anaesthatist. Wouldn't have been ideal with DS there as he is pretty keen on running about.

They took some blood - to test iron levels apparently, and some swabs (from nose, and crease at top of legs) to test for MRSA. Also blood pressure. Anaesthatist asked lots of questions about reactions to drugs etc, and explained what they would be doing and the risks. Midwife also took me through what would happen before/during/after, gave me an information sheet setting everything out, and answered my random questions.

Booked to go in tomorrow so can't tell you about the actual op yet - did have EMCS before but seem to have blocked the whole thing out of my memory. Am hoping this time will be less stress all round!

Good luck missmarple hope all goes well. Look forward to hearing how you get on.

Today's the day MsMarple!! Hope all goes well. Will check in for news later!!! x

Bumping this because I am 12 days away from CS and know others are in the same boat!

Babydubs how did you get on? Did you end up having CS?

DISCLAIMER: thread is from June 2012!!!

Thanks for bumping Angelico - I have been having a good re read..

One thing I am still unsure of is the cather - how far does it go inside one?

Hmmm, don't know Eliza - another thing I don't want to think about... :o