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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

C-section advice - starting with where to find white support stockings!!?

23 replies

notsolilKel · 06/02/2007 21:04

Hello,

I'm expecting my second and am planning a section this time around. Basically I'm wondering if anyone who's been through this has any great advice for me...and where I can find the white support stockings worn after the surgery? I'd actually like them now in order to prevent DVT. Not to mention they are such a statement of high fashion

Thanks so much

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Wheelybug · 06/02/2007 21:06

I was given them by the hospital. Mind you, only 1 pair. I asked for a second as my first were covered in blood and was met with shock that I had asked for a second and told to wash them in the sink in my room. So would be an idea to buy another pair !! But don't know where from -sorry.

lulumama · 06/02/2007 21:07

erm...ask the midwife...will flight socks not do the same thing? ask in boots...they sell them there.... are you at particular risk of DVT?

kikidee · 06/02/2007 21:08

I think the white support stockings are given to you by the hospital after the surgery and are fitted to you. Not everyone gets them though - I didn't have them but my friend did.

Other tip would be big pants that sit above the line of your scar.

Waswondering · 06/02/2007 21:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

southeastastra · 06/02/2007 21:14

argh i forgot all about those awful stockings! i only had them before c section. they hurt

Donbean · 06/02/2007 21:20

Boots do sell them but they will be prvided for you by the hospital post op.

My one big top tip is get shed loads of those huge disposable knickers because:

1)bending down to take off ordinary ones kills

they sit Above your painful wound, ordinary ones will sit on or near your wound
you just tear them at each side and chuck them, no bending, no messing...great.

If you are offered painkillers...take them, even if you are not in that much pain, the trick is to keep topped up...DONT wait till you have got pain, take them when offered.

This scar is likely to bother you up to 12 months after giving birth, dont worry it is normal...but if it really isnt right then go back to GPs.
When i say bother you i dont mean what it looks like i mean pain, dragging feeling and throbbing especially if you have done allot of activity.

Good luck

chocolateshoes · 06/02/2007 21:20

I wasn't even told about them when I had mine!

Can't think of any clothes advice - just make sure you've got plenty of help organised for your return. Don't rush home from hospital - you need time to recover. Get your DH to bring you in some really scrummy food instead of eating the hospital food.

Ermmm...hopefully something else will come back to me...oh take your camera so you can take a photo of DH looking dashing in theatre greens!

lulumama · 06/02/2007 21:22

i read it as you want some now to prevent DVT...!!

the ones you get after surgery are provided by the hospital

Waswondering · 06/02/2007 21:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

eidsvold · 06/02/2007 21:52

i have never worn them despite having two sections.

second arnica tablets

second big granny knickers - cheap cotton that can be thrown

tea tree oil - few drops in warm water to bathe your wound - helps heal nicely.

paper towels to dry scar - rather than using towel - I would just wad up a few paper towels to pat wound dry and then chuck them.

fridayschild · 06/02/2007 21:53

our local chemist was great on the surgical socks, I had a drop foot and was made to wear them for 6 weeks

they measured me up and got me some black ones instead of those fetching white ones that show the dirt so well

get help around the house. double buggies can be heavy, don't over-do it. train your DC to climb into their high chair and buggy now so you don't need to lift him or her

Jennster · 06/02/2007 22:07

the white ones are stronger than the ones you can get in the pharmacy. Don't bother with the flight socks that just go off shoe sizes, they are rubbish. Get properly measured. Class 3 are really strong and still not as stong as the white ones, but class 2 are quite comfy and suitable for Prophylactic dvt use. I wear below knee ones under my trousers at work because I stand 10 hours.

Scholl Ultima do a class 2 hold up that doesn't block off the circulation at your thigh. The black ones just look like opaque tights. They are quite pricey if you buy them, but many midwives recommend them so you might get them on prescription if you ask really nicely.

rachelhill · 06/02/2007 22:37

Sorry this is fairly random, it's late....
(1) You can get really supportive ones from legcare.co.uk but they are really expensive AND also the rule is (as far as I remember) if you spend more time out of bed than in you don't need them. I was keen to do circuits being stuck in hospital, so my baby and I went up and down the corridors like a hamster on a wheel, so I didn't need them.
(2)I also used arnica and didn't get any bruises.
(3) Groom your lady garden as well, they will probably shave a bit of it (you can do it yourself in advance if you want to avoid nasty razor rash). My bloody consultant turned up, inspected the midwife's job and did it again herself then called the midwife over to admire her work! All the while I'm lying their in agony thinking 'this isn't frigging miss world you know?' (think I might have actually said this out loud
(4) If you can get a cot top changer, so you don't have to get on the floor - actually it's getting off the floor afterwards that is a problem after a section.
(5) You will probably be surprised to find a running stitch scar with a little pearl at each end. Not as suprised as you will be when they snip off one end and pull the other out - and it doesn't hurt - much - but it is shocking to see something run through your skin like it's alive. Well it freaked me out anyway.
(6) Prepare your remarks for when they show you your baby in advance (I yelled out 'OMG I was expecting a kitten but it's a baby!!!!') Having said, don't, the medics need a laugh.
(7) There may be about ten people in the room with you during your section. The important one is the anaesthesiologist (seriously, he stops it hurting). He or she will probably make the following joke: 'shall I tell you when they start....only kidding they've been going for five minutes' and think it's hilarious. Try to feign a laugh, he's got the good drugs!
(8) After having a baby by c section, you STILL have to do pelvic floor exercises. Actually MUMSNET do you really your sceptical face looks JUST like someone doing them?

Having said, I really REALLY enjoyed my section (compared to the failed induction and ARM).

Good luck

Rachel

Original poster

notsolilKel · 07/02/2007 08:51

wish I could give all of you a big hug. thanks so much. this has been really helpful.

LOL at the joking with medics

OP posts:

amidaiwish · 07/02/2007 08:57

i can't recommend this enough!
Good luck!

Waswondering · 07/02/2007 09:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

notsolilKel · 07/02/2007 09:46

amidaiwish, that looks fab thanks...my DS is going to be 15mo when the new one comes along so 'kick protection' is a definite must...

OP posts:

Highlander · 07/02/2007 09:52

you're anti-coagulated these days; no need for the sexy tights

Original poster

notsolilKel · 07/02/2007 09:54

I'm after the tights/knee highs because I'm making long-haul flights at the end of the month & don't want to take any chances. Will be at 26 weeks then...

OP posts:

ProfYaffle · 07/02/2007 10:09

My anaesthatist looked like Herr Flick, had the accent, limp, glasses the lot. He was very nice though.

I wasn't give support socks last time round (have another booked in a couple of weeks) but they do tend to hoik you out of bed asap to prevent the dvt thing. With dd1 I was in bed for about 24hrs, this time round it will be more like 12.

Ali5 · 07/02/2007 11:49

Take a cd into room with you, I had loads in my bag but after 4 days of a failed induction I completely forgot they were there and had to listen to Enya. It has a very strange effect on me now and I was never a fan! Try and walk every day, even if it's just round the bed in the first day or two, it really helped my recovery but take it really easy when you get home, I was surprised at how little I could actually do without getting knackered.

Waswondering · 07/02/2007 16:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fizzbuzz · 07/02/2007 17:26

I had c section in July, and was told to wear the lovely stockings, pulled up to top of thigh for 6 weeks, all the time, night and day. I was also given blood thinning meds as well. Hospital is one of top rated maternity hosps in UK.

I wore the horrible things right through that boiling hot July, it was a nightmare. They roll down all the time to just above knee, and you have to keep hoicking them up.

I was measured at hosp for them, fortunately dd was sick over one pair whilst in hosp, so managed to get another pair from good old NHS. It is impossible to manage with one pair.

A midwife told me she had an Italian mum on the ward, and in Italy they do them in diff colours and with lacey tops etc. Nothing like that for us Brits eh?

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