Elective cesarean / injections ?????

[PrincessJadeina]

Hope someone can help me as I was seriously freaked out by my midwife app yesterday.
I went in knowing I wanted an elective cesarean, as my first experience had resulted in 48 hours of labour then emergency cs. The midwife basically spent an hour telling me the merits of a natural birth, and ended with if I wanted an elective cesarean I would have to inject myself for a week after with blood clot reducing drugs and def wouldn't be able to lift/hold my 1yr old for 6weeks.
I'm just wondering if she's trying to freak me out? I havnt heard about these injections before. Has anyone else had to do them. And also how long really can u not lift your older child? I guess I'm just panicking as my child is only 1 so obv still needs to be carried around,lifted into cot etc and husband / mum will not be around for whole 6weeks to help.
Thanks for any response. X

The midwife isn't scaring you needlessly. Our hospital now gives the injections to every woman who has had a cs. 7 days of injections on discharge here (mine were something called tinzaparin). Nothing to do with bmi or immobility. Is standard for all cs patients here as are support stockings. I'm a size 8 and have a bmi of around 21 and they were offered to me just as they were offered to all patients. I didn't have it with dd btw, it's relatively new here but the midwives said a lot of hospitals are now bringing it in as a measure to reduced dvts. Good tip is to do it in your stomach as it's probably still a bit numb following the cs. I barely felt it tbh.

I was up and about within a couple of hours of both cs. I've never needed painkillers and have got on with things as normal. DD started school 4 days post my 2nd emcs and I had a long school run to do and it was no problem apart from fatigue from bfing round the clock. So it is possible that you can have a fairly easy cs recovery. However, it is worth mentioning that I felt too well post the 2nd emcs and did too much perhaps. My wound reopened on one side and I had to ease off the hoovering for a while.

I was on clexane throughout both pregnancies due to high risk for clots and they're nothing. And your mw is scaring you needlessly - you'd be offered them if you had an EMCS too. Don't let something so small change your plans. And you can lift whatever is reasonably comfortable afterwards - the weight of your baby, the kettle etc! You won't be doing star-jumps for a bit but that's ok!

Even women having a virginal birth sometimes have anti-clotting injections.
Ask the midwife about the history of c-sections at that hospital, why is she so against elective c-sections? If she is scaremoungering it might be good to put her one the spot and ask about the actual safety record of elective c-sections compared to virginal births at that hospital. i have not heard of any babies or women in the UK with no health risks being seriously injured or worse because of an elective c-section.

I had EMCS in Canada, and I'm high BMI, and they didn't even mention that anti-clotting injections were an option.

I was up and about within hours (slowly and carefully), and within 2 weeks I was up and down 11 flights of stairs during a fire alarm, carrying my baby (madness.. I can only blame hormones that I wouldn't let DP carry him).

I think you'd have to be careful lifting the toddler, but if they helped you'd manage it fairly quickly - a one year old is about 10-12 kilos, so twice what the baby would be - not a lot if you're careful.

The clexane jabs are quite standard now to avoid DVT's Had a daily one in hospital and for about a week after to thin blood. If you were in hospital with a broken ankle too you would be having them - it's just because of immobility. Presumably if your MW is telling you about them, then they are standard practice at your hospital. My DH gave me mine (in the stomach) when I was discharged. Plenty of fat bits left over . The needle is in a widget that retracts the needle afterwards so it's pretty idiot proof.
Whether you pick up your 1 yr old or not is up to you and your pain tolerance. It is likely to be pretty painful to pick them up certainly for a few weeks so try and line up some help especially for things like nappy changes. By week 4 you should be pretty much back to normal. Holding them - one yr olds are pretty wiggly - you just need to be careful that you don't get kicked in the stomach.

If you can't or don't have any help for the first couple of weeks, there are lots of tricks to minimise how much physical strain you are putting on yourself.

anyadvice01 - hopefully you're talking about vaginal births, rather than the much rarer, virgin births!!

The injections would only be necessary for a vaginal birth if you were thought to be high risk for dvt, whereas the operation itself is seen as risk enough in the case of csection.

'i have not heard of any babies or women in the UK with no health risks being seriously injured or worse because of an elective c-section.' you may not have heard about them, but there can be serious risks with an elcs, and it is important to be informed of them

I was sent home with anti-clot jabs after EMCS. Had to do one a night for 6 weeks. Did freak me out at first and took me practically 10 mins to psych myself up to do the first one but the needle is so fine I barely felt it. Certainly not like jabbing yourself with a sewing needle or a pin.

And what is she talking about not being able to hold your baby. Seriously??!! Nonsense!

Oh...picking up your 1yo. Sorry! Hmmmm. Yes they do advise nothing heavier than your baby. Not v. practical though for many with other DCs.

Hi,
I was given anti cloting injections for 5 days post c section . After 2 months I still have pain in my right thigh where the shots were given. Is it something to be concerned?

Someone asked me if I had had my stomach injections yet and I didn't have a C Section. Luckily they went off to check about it and never came back. I was the only person in my bay on the mat ward who had not had. C section and I saw everyone else be told to do the injections.

Did you not have to do anti-clotting jabs after your EMCS?

The injections would only be necessary for a vaginal birth if you were thought to be high risk for dvt, whereas the operation itself is seen as risk enough in the case of csection.

Surely it is not the operation but the anaesthetic which brings the risk? It was certainly standard at my hospital for women who had had an epidural or spinal block to be given a course of Clexane. I had a spinal block and vaginal ventouse delivery in theatre and was discharged with Clexane.

I had these after both my EMCS. Surprised you didn't actually.

It's not a big deal though, they're little tiny needles that are really easy to use. I was freaked out a bit at first but really it's not bad at all

Also, I had an 18 month old after my EMCS and how long you should avoid picking them up depends on your recovery really. I would avoid lifting them for the first couple of weeks at least.

I previously had to do the injections after I broke my leg. They weren’t noticeable. Very thin needle and easy to administer as they are one time use only (just click a small button to inject).

Had a csec with DC1 (technically emergency, but not really as it was failed induction - nothing happened). Much easier recovery compared to friends who have had a proper emergency op after prolonged labour. I think I was picking up baby after about 5 days and felt fine by day 7. I didn’t really leave the house much in first 6 weeks though (just for doctor appointments etc), which helped a lot with recovery and getting into a good routine