C-Section - What do you wish you'd known?

[freneticfox]

Ok, time for some brutal honesty!

I've got an ELCS scheduled next week at 39+4 (due to health reasons) and while I know it's the right decision for me and my baby, I'm still experiencing a certain amount of anxiety. I've read stories, both good and bad. I feel relatively prepared but yet I still feel like I'm careering into the unknown.

No matter how TMI, what are things you wish you knew pre-CS? At the moment my main anxiety is rooted in a phobia I used to have (emetophobia, fear of vomiting). For the most part I'm ok now, but I'm extremely anxious about being sick in theatre, or straight after when I have a very raw scar! Any tips to help avoid this much appreciated...

Thanks :)

Oh and I managed to eat a (lovely!) three course meal within an hour of coming out! I'd heard of people not being able to manage even water without being sick, but food was being served in the recovery room and I was hungry. I gave it a go and I was fine.

Going over speed bumps in the car really hurt for a good few weeks.
DH had to go back to work after 2 weeks but he left me a packed lunch every day plus snacks and also left out plates, cups etc where I could reach them without bending or stretching. This was really helpful. He also lifted DD in and out of the Moses basket for night feeds for the first few weeks.
Definitely get some big pants and leggings. Good luck!

I had an EMCS.
The spinal block meant I couldn't feel the rise & fall of my chest when breathing which made me panic that I couldn't breathe. But I was!

Had to wear compression socks for a week - don't walk around the ward without slippers on as they won't give you spares. Mine got filthy.

I was walking around without slippers because the water retention was unbelievable. I couldn't really walk where my feet had swelled. I did have problems with dehydration during labour though.

Use the bed uppy-downy thing for getting out of it in hospital. I got stuck half off at one point which was a low.

I found clexane pretty nasty (the dispersal after the jab really stung). But it's only for five or so days.

Good luck!

You will need help to get the compression socks on and off for showering! My DH did not like this! The socks wash fine. I found them really comfortable and have kept them for air travel!

Bring slippers you can just slip your feet into and ditto shoes for going home in as it will be difficult to bend to do shoes etc.

get a co sleeper cot.

www.mumsnet.com/reviews/nursery/cots-cribs-cotbeds/9963-arms-reach-universal-co-sleeper-bedside-cot

This wil make huge difference to whole experience, not reaching in and out of moses...bad enough without c section, baby happy, close to you etc..easy to get too...you can sleep and relax.

BTW I had NO trapped wind! The catheter was FINE and didn't hurt to pee after either...

However when I first moved to go to loo....first time off bed since op, I fainted, luckily care assistant and dh were already with me helping me. and this is apparently quite common but was a shock and awful for me.

So be careful.

Also, be careful how you move in hours after op, you do not want to twist your stomach. so move your whole side onto side etc. keep torso straight.

sryrup of figs was far better than all other laxatives and cheap.

do nothing for two weeks. nothing. even if you feel like it, short walks fine but no heavy lifting, laundry etc.

air wound as much as can lying flat.

what surprised me, was the feeling of not being able to walk far, and getting tired, it didn't hurt it was just odd.

BUT having done birth two ways, its by far far far the best way!

My goodness, yes its major surgery, yes your awake going into a theatre which is odd! Yes, your going to have a wound.....even so...it was far better to have an ELC which was quick, calm, jolly, than hours and hours of labour and excruciating pain, you don't know when it will end and so on.

Its a lovely way to bring a baby into the world it really is. It works out very well that getting baby out is the quick part, so once baby out your so overwhelmed and tearful and joyful...you dont notice the longer part which is sewing up.

Good luck

Oh one more thing, my lochia was nothing, far less than vag birth however my first period!! Was awful!! I was quite worried something was wrong !

My tips would be:
big pants - really big
cushion for car journeys
have something to pull yourself up on to get out of bed or off the sofa

I was mobile asap as my baby was in the nicu unit 6 floors down but it was probably a good thing. I was out of surgery at 10pm, up in the shower with the midwife's help, catheter and line out, at 6am.

I had a c section this time last week and as a pp has said, I've just found every day to be so much better than the last and am feeling great today. One thing just to say is when I got out of bed for the first time the morning after I got very shaky, nearly passed out and puked up all my breakfast. Think or may have been a bit soon add when I tried again a short while later I was fine. I don't remember the puking hurting my wound or feeling strange at all, I think the painkillers stopped any of that. The other thing that shocked me was the wind - it just kept on coming and coming! I've never done/heard of farts taking so long before! ! It was really quite funny and I was so embarrassed on the ward, i hoped everyone would think it was my baby!

I had an emergency c-section on Saturday I found the whole operation fine although a bit worrying due to the rushed/stressed feel to the room which is understandable. I haven't, as yet, had any trapped wind. Baby was 12 days overdue so no locia.

What I was wondering is I am only on 2 paracetamol and 1 ibruprofen 3 times a day which doesn't seem to do anything. Would you be asking for more painkillers? I note that OP say that they have felt better as the days go on but I seem to be getting worse. We came home yesterday and I can't get up from the couch or bed without excruciating pain. I can pick baby up which is good but I am beginning to worry about when my Husband goes back to work.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

I think you should call the doctor and ask for pain relief. It is barbaric to expect you to tolerate pain with only paracetamol three days after major surgery, imo. I was given Voltarol tablets and they were brill .

You used to be able to get some strong peppermint cordial from the chemist to prevent or deal with the wind.

Linz I found the worse bit was days 2-4 and then I felt better. Have you got water retention? That really didn't help. Can you contact the ward or your gp for some oramorph and diclofenac?

I have had one VB and my second was an EMCS (forehead first baby). I had (by chance) taken in my soft yoga pants to wear afterwards, and the band bit at the top of the pants was an absolute God send because it kind of went over my cut and softly held it. I think I must have spent the best part of six weeks in yoga pants Buy the softest ones you can find!

The pain afterwards was really severe for me, for the first three days. My hospital had changed policy (while I was there it seemed) and did not supply painkillers at discharge. It took me the first excruciating night at home without strong painkillers to realise that I needed the drugs, got my gp on the phone the next morning and got the same painkillers prescribed. If your hospital has the same policy, get a prescription from your gp ASAP.

Have you got one of those long pillows? Really good for helping you sleep and supporting you in bed afterwards.

Don't worry about skin aprons. I havnt got one either (I just had to google it to see what it was!) I did shiver and shake right after the op though.

Movicol is good for the constipation, my gp prescribed me that too. Or you can buy natural ispaghol husk from Asian supermarkets in advance. Mix two tablespoons in a big glass of water and drink down as fast as poss. Avoid white bread at all costs!!

Someone told me that it was unfortunate I had had an EMCS, all the women in her family including herself have given birth naturally. That upset me no end .. Even though she didn't actually mean to be horrible. So just in case you feel sad if it happens....

There is nothing unnatural about any birth.
You are still 100% mother and woman and amazing after a c section.
And many congrats

I had an ELCS 3 weeks ago and im glad I ignored the scaremongering. I wasn't prepared for not having any feeling in my tummy for so long after. I batch cooked chilli / pasta / goulash, I take up offers of help and a feeding or V pillow has been a god send.
I've had a few 'so you took the easy option' comments but recovery from surgery isn't easy but for me it has been better than the trauma that can be incurred during a VB.
All the best xx

I must have been quite lucky as I had no constipation, no itching, no shoulder pain, minimal bleeding afterwards, no itching and could eat and drink fine.

In the Trust I had it fine at there are no compression socks and no Clexane injections after day 1.

I wish I had been told that feeling a bit lightheaded and dizzy during the procedure was normal. I felt extremely sleepy during the CS, I literally had to force my eyes to stay open, I felt like the epidural was spreading upwards and making my face and brain numb. I told the anaesthetist who said they were all perfectly normal sensations and it was because seeing as I was numb from the chest down my brain was going into a more relaxed state as it had less work to do. It was obviously more complicated than that but it made sense at the time. I just wish I had been pre-warned as I wouldn't have felt so panicked when it happened.

Just wanted to check back in and Thank everyone for their advice on my situation.

I spoke to the Dr on Tuesday who has given me codeine to take which has definitely helped my mobility. I also bought a cesarean support belt with different inserts which you can use to cool/heat compress the area. I cannot tell you how much relief the belt provides, especially now that I have a ball of fluid collected above the incision. The belt has helped to support the stitches which means I don't walk about clutching myself all day.

Thanks again
Linz

I had one a week ago, my second, and am feeling pretty OK although DD2 is a worse sleeper than DD1 was, so a lot more tired. Knowing what to do and not do from the first time really helped.

Definitely agree about not getting up without help: they wanted me up at 6am but I said 'I'm waiting for DH to arrive so he can help me' - first time round I was told off for 'refusing' to get up! Having that first here makes you feel so much better, though.

Also had bad experiences with the night staff especially first time: apart from the first night, they expect you to be able to spring out of bed to lift baby or do a nappy. This time round I was a lot more firm and also super polite - 'can you refill my water bottle, please, I can't reach the jug'- make them realise you aren't just being pathetic, you literally can't reach it. Being absolutely clear about what I was and wasn't prepared/able to do helped me feel in control. (NB am sure not all night staff are that grumpy, I just had a couple of sulky ones I reckon).

Still wearing the compression socks today - they do stretch the more you put them on which helps. Actually quite comfy!

A breastfeeding pillow or using the 'rugby ball' hold really helps for positioning baby to breastfeed without hurting the scar.

'First here' - should be 'first shower'

Oh and my tip for a good high-fibre snack for constipation- dried apricots. Only eat one or two though - really, no more! The people in the cubicle next door will not like it too much but it does help. Plus the Rennies for the ensuing thunderous wind. (Sorry TMI)

On the subject of wind...
2 weeks post section and my (frequent) farts still smell like pure evil. Must be a reaction to someone rummaging round your insides, but seriously gross.