Daft question re: CS, catheter and nightie/PJs

[WhyOWhyWouldYou]

OK, so I have a daft question about what will happen after ELCS. Lots of threads say about having a nightie and not PJs because of catheter after section but surely the catheter is only in whilst your immobile and surely you are still in hospital gown after the op, until you are mobile? Or am I being completely daft?

Also what happens about blood loss whilst you're immobile and catheter in?

Usually the catheter stays in for about 12 hours during which you can stay in your hospital gown. Then they remove the catheter, you get up, have a shower and put on your own clothes. After the op they stick a huge maternity pad between your legs and a large absorbent mat underneath you.

I don't know how typical my experience is, but I found I had very heavy blood loss for the first 24 hours or so and then quite light subsequently, so a nightie was better to start off with (PJs would have been soaked).

I would have struggled to put PJ on after an ELCS, plus I would be careful about where the bottoms sat in relation to your scar.

Yes, the catheter tends to come out quite soon but I agree with PP that I found a nighty more comfortable for the first two days or so. But after that those very soft jersey lounge pant thingies were a godsend, as they had the softest waist.

I wasn't in a gown for as long as I was immobile. And they do tend at the start to want to check for blood loss etc which is much easier in a nightie of some kind. You can get your own bed stuff on (maybe a dressing gown though tends to be very hot) before you're able to move, which can feel a bit fresher and maybe nicer for the inevitable photos!

Definitely nightie!
I had the catheter in for 24hrs I think.

PJs would rub on scar/cut.

I bled all over the nighty first time round and it went In the bin. second time I just wore a breastfeeding vest (it's warm in hospital). once catheter is out I'd recommend maternity yoga pants and big knickers that'll cover your belly and won't roll down onto your scar. 2 sizes bigger than normal from primark were good for me.

I didn't have a CS but I had a spinal block. The catheter was taken out about 24 hours after DD was born. I'd long since showered and put on my own nighty. The maternity ward was stifling so I think I'd have been very hot in pjs anyway.

I had the catheter out in the morning following a section at 7pm. Straight into my big extra soft yoga pant style pyjama bottoms and it was fine. Also I was expecting a blood bath but it was less than a period.

Not a CS, but a messy assisted delivery.. I had a catheter for about 12h and stayed in my gown until then. To be honest, I didn't give a second thought to what I was wearing, but that first shower and clean nightgown the next day was heaven!

Bending low enough to pull my PJs back up when I went to the loo post-CS and not had the sense to keep them at thigh level was beyond me. My sis eventually came to look for me in the post-natal ward loos because I'd been gone for a worrying long time. Seriously, a nightie is much less hassle - but my tip about not letting your lower garments drop below knee level immediately post-CS stands for knickers too.

I had my second cs at 3.30pm ish and catheter was out by 7pm. I had a shower and changed into pyjamas at about 9pm.

Hmm. So a mixture. Thanks guys. I had been hoping I could just wear my joggers (very high over bump ones, so no where near scar) and a large t-shirt, that I could tuck baby into - its what I did after DS's vaginal birth.

Its just I would have to buy nighties just for this (i would never ever normally even consider wearing a nightie) and trying to find some for a reasonable price when I'm tall and plus size isn't easy (in fact its proving impossible), especially since I'd want button front so I could do skin to skin.

Then again I suppose opting to stay in hospital gown until catheter is out would get in the way of skin to skin too. Plus I hadnt thought about pulling trousers up.

The hospital gown won't get in the way of skin-to-skin. I held DD for a good three hours skin-to-skin immediately post CS. Probably best to stay in the hospital gown for the first few hours anyway to avoid getting blood on your own clothes.

Softsheen how did you do skin to skin in hospital gown? Did you drop the top of it down or is there another way?

I had the BEST EVER maternity nightie from bonprix.com - soft jersey, quite low-cut button-front so ideal for bf and skin-to-skin. It was v old-ladyish but I loved it! (I also had a c-sec)

Yes, you can just drop the top down and then pull it up again with baby underneath. I don't think my gown was done up at the back anyway (crash CS, so all happened rather quickly).

Would one of your DP's old tshirts do? Until the catheter is out you probably won't be moving much so you can use the bedclothes for modesty/warmth.

I had an emcs, and I took pyjamas to hospital with me. The catheter is in whilst you are in bed - you don't walk around with it! So I just had the top on, which was button up, so easy for skin to skin/breast feeding.

I did get a maternity nightie from Mothercare which has poppers down the front, but I found PJs comfier.

Whatever you wear, the postnatal ward will be baking hot, even at night!

I didn't have a CS but I did have a catheter in with an epidural. I just had the hospital gown.

After my c section they put me in big white flight socks, came up to my thighs. Something to do with dvt I think. The ward was absolutely boiling hot. I couldn't bare the pj bottoms over the socks it was just too warm.

I had the gown on to start with after my emcs but after about 2 hours they gave me a bed bath & I put a nightie on. I only wore the nightie until the catheter was out which was about 24 hours after op. In hindsight I wish I'd just put a breast feeding vest on as it was boiling hot & you get the sweats after giving birth. You have a sheet on you covering your bottom half so it's really just the top you need to worry about to start with. I then wore pyjama bottoms that came over my bump with breast feeding vests once catheter was out.

I don't wear nighties either but got a cheap button down one from primark for my post CS. Felt good to change out of the gown ( I was helped). Was then able to use soft jersey bottoms. Third the comment about not letting your pjs/pants go below the knee.