Recent C-Section Anyone?? Advice please!!

[AwwABaby]

Hi,

Had my DS 29th July by Emergency C/Section (horrible birth story, but won't get into that).

The blood loss afterwards was unreal it really scared me - Doc's and M/W's say perfectly normal don't worry.

It's nearly 2 weeks now and at one point the blood loss slowed to a point that I thought it might stop then it speeded up again it's still that bright red blood and I am having medium sized say just smaller than a golf ball clots.

Mum and M/W say not to worry it's normal but I am worried that it has speeded up again and about the bright red blood have not got to the brown stage yet and I am coming up to the 2 week period.

Anyone been through similiar fear?? How long did bright red bleeding last and how long overall did blood loss last??

Thanks :)

Hi there aww baby . Congratulations on the birth of your boy! Sorry to hear about your difficult birth. In regard to your concerns I have had three c-sections, my first as an emergency and the subsequent two as electives. My first and third resulted in very heavy blood loss. I took the lead from my midwife as to what was normal or not. You don t sound like you feel reassured by the advice your midwife has given? Are you still having visits from her? If not then I think a visit to the GP might give you the reassurance you need. If you are moving about a lot, lifting, etc this will also affect your blood loss. Make sure you really are putting your feet up!!! Someone told me that breast feeding can also stimulate blood flow/loss. I don't know how true that is... Post c section can be so stressful and upsetting. I too had a truly awful experience first time round which had along lasting effect on me. The National Childbirth Trust has a help line for talking through those difficult times and how you feel. Might be worth talking to them when you re up to it. I really wish you well. Ask for help from those around you. Any time you fancy a chat just get on here! I hope I've been of help. I ve never posted anything on here before!

I bled for 6 weeks after my first c section. It is normal. We still bright red at 2 weeks post op.

I definitely bled more on the days I did too much trying to be supermum and do it all.
Is there any chance you can sit of the sofa / stay in bed for the next 2 or 3 days and see if it slows it down?

Let someone else run around after you and do NOTHING but eat well, iron rich foods, cuddle baby and relax.

Congrats

Congrats on your new baby. The bleeding sounds totally normal at two weeks. Mind didn't ease off until about four weeks. That said, if you are worried ring your GP or midwife, even if just for peace of mind.

Rest and heal, don't try to do too much, take salt baths for your wound and for relaxation and eat plenty of iron as other posters have suggested. Plenty of water too and as much sleep as baby will allow! The first few weeks can feel like a bit of a blur but it will get easier, you will feel healthy again and Motherhood just gets better and better. Good luck!!

It does seem to come and go, I think it's true however baby is born, used to bug me that the first time I didn't put a pad in you could guarantee I'd have a rush! If you're breastfeeding it will stimulate your uterus to contract down, often when you stand up after being sat or lying for awhile will make it rush too so if you get up after feeding the baby you can get bit of a rush. It should stop within six weeks of the birth. Get as much rest as possible, spend time getting to know and bonding with your baby.

Congratulations!

Yes- sounds perfectly normal. Same happened to me, bleeding actually stopped after about 10 days, I stopped wearing pads, then started with bright red again and clots. Was on and off like this, gradually reducing in frequency/amount til 5-6 weeks. Always worse when I'd been doing more or when expressing (baby was on special care).

If ever starts to be v smelly and much heavier, then defo see Gp immediately, but what you describe sounds normal! :)

Congratulations.

Same as the others, it's normal. I had a lot of blood loss after emcs and I still bled for 5 weeks. It did get worse at around 2/3 weeks, think I pushed myself too hard as I was feeling better.

Make sure you get some rest each day, it's still early days

Congratulations on your new baby!

I had my DS by elective c-section on the 26th July, and I've had exactly the same experience as you. Actually, I was alarmed by how much bleeding I had because after my first c-section the blood loss was a lot less, with no clots. But my midwives have all said it's totally normal, and that they must have just 'cleaned me out' a lot more when they did my first section.

I have noticed an increase in bleeding after I've been more active, so I guess that's a warning not to overdo things. It's hard because I feel really well in comparison to how I felt after my emergency c-section.

Do contact the midwives again though if it gets worse, more painful, you develop a temperature, it starts to smell etc. though. It's easy to miss signs of infection when you aren't sure what's 'normal'.

I would make sure you are taking your temperature and if it goes up, then you should go to A&E. I had an infection after my second CS and the bleeding symptoms were similar to this (very heavy "rushes" of blood which soaked a pad in minutes though)

hi ladies
congrats to all on a new baby:)

im due in Nov and contemplating an elective CS as im terrified of giving birth.

Has anyone of you had an elective CS on NHS? If so, which hospital?

thanks

bt23 - are you allowed to elect a cs on NHS? I'm not sure? I had an emergency one with DS then an elective one with DD - but that was only after she was found to be breech at 36 weeks. All through the pregnancy with DD midwives were 'pushing' me to go for a vbac rather than elective.
Not sure if different trusts offer differnt options but most i think wont allow an elective just because you are terrified - there has to be a medical reason which puts you or baby at risk

Maybe someone who was able to elect will be able to offer some advice.

You can opt for a section for certain medical reasons, if you've previously had a section they may give you the option. If you have a real phobia they can ask you to see a pyscologist for an assessment before they will let you opt for a section.

Before you get to choosing a section I'd do as much as you can to educate yourself, go to the NCT classes, get a Doula or just speak to one, speak to a Supervisor of Midwives (which is also a good way of going about getting a section), speak to some mums who had good experiences of birth, read books like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth...

Remember though that there are very few people who are not scared of giving birth! I think it's a pretty natural fear to have.