C-section questions

[Nobhobs]

I'm 35 weeks and baby is still stubbornly breech. I'm back in for a scan at 37 weeks and if he's still breech my consultant has said he'll do an ECV then and there or book me in for a section. I hate both options Hopefully in the next two weeks baby turns on his own. I'm just worried about the risks of ECV, my hospital is small and rural and I asked the consultant for his success rate and he said no one in the hospital has done enough for their to be a success rate as such.

So, c-section..

How bad is it? It's my first baby so I haven't got another child to worry about it. But DH only has a week off work, so after that I'll be largely on my own. Is it hard to cope?

We don't have armchairs but large sinky sofas, will I be able to get off them? My only bathroom is upstairs so will I manage this? Just the logistics of it all really freak me out. What's it honestly like?

I had an emergency section (but an easy enough time leading up to it, so I suspect closer to an elective in practice). Honestly, it was great, I'd recommend it to anyone. I had two nights in hospital. From the second night I was able to do everything with DD (albeit slowly) in terms of lifting, changing etc.

DH was off for a fortnight, and I was fine when he went back. Still not able to walk far and only able to push the pram on the flat but other than that it wasn't a (physical) issue that he wasn't there and I probably could've coped earlier if I'd had to.

Take all pain relief offered, don't wait for the pain to build up, stay on top of it. Different hospitals have different policies on their pain relief, so you may find you need more than what's offered as standard - just ask, shouldn't be a problem.

Do as little as you can while DH is off, and when he's back just resign yourself to being a bit stuck in the house at first - set up a changing station where you can get to it etc.

But honestly, it will be fine. I was pleasantly surprised. Best of luck!

Oh and I had no problem getting up from any chairs, our bathroom is upstairs and the shower is in the bath, none of that was a problem for me. If the stairs are tricky, you can always just stay upstairs. But I imagine most people would be fine with that after a week.

The first couple of days are pretty tough but after that it's fine.

As PP said, keep on top of your pain relief and it's alright. I was in for 5 days after mine for high pulse rate (turned out to be dehydration) after the first day though I ditched the wheelchair and was taking slow walks down to NICU and getting in and out of the bed and the chair myself. As soon as I got home I went upstairs to get the steriliser and didn't even realise till I got back down that it was the first time i'd done stairs.

By the time your OH goes back to work you should be okay, a bit sore but easily manageable as long as you keep on with the painkillers.

Hi I had an elective 3 weeks ago and had the same worries as you initially. I posted about this too, asking for advice re. recovery, logistics etc.

3 weeks on, my recovery has been very steady but good. The hardest thing for me was getting in and out of bed for the first 3-5 days. Some people suggest tying dressing gown cord at the end and using that to pull yourself up, however I wasn't able to do this as I have an ottoman bed. Still, I managed fine.

During the day I sat on my sofa which is quite firm so it was easy to get up and down. I managed the stairs on day 2 when I was discharged home, this wasn't a problem at all.

Each day you will find that you can do a little more than the day before. Just keep moving and remember to walk tall, it's natural to want to slouch.

I think after a week you'll be fine on your own. Just get your DH to put things such as nappies, clothes within easy reach so you're not bending/lifting unnecessarily. It's amazing how I'd learnt to pick things off the floor using my feet..a new skill lol!

It's really not as bad as I imagined x

I was mostly fine, took a couple of days. It was hard to get off soft surfaces but if someone helped me fine or if I had something to pull up on. Maybe consider a walking stick. You just something to lean on. I got to upstairs toilet fine though. Think I recovered faster than those who had vaginal births (I was in the hospital shower 8 hours after birth)

It's really not that bad. I had an elective nearly four months ago. We went to a community hospital for support with anxiety for two nights after the initial night in hospital, so I wasn't back at home straight away but you do have to do everything yourself.

I found lying on my back very uncomfortable the first couple of nights - get plenty of pillows to prop you up.

You'll be fine getting off the sofa and climbing stairs, just take it slowly. Shower over bath should be ok, you might need to get into an awkward position or have your husband on hand to help for a few days, but you likely won't be showering when he's not there anyway because of baby.

If you need help with anything or more pain relief in hospital, ASK. They are there to help you. I felt bad asking for help with my baby's nappy on the first night so left it until my partner arrived back, and I still feel guilty.

Oromorph is fucking brilliant. The second day is the worst in terms of pain.

I had a c section two weeks tomorrow. I found getting up and moving at first the hardest... but moving regularly does help massively so try to as much as possible.

As others have said, getting out of bed etc can be tough... my only advice is to take your time and ask for help as much as you need to.

If you have a deep sofa, I would recommend putting some cushions behind you so it isn't as deep. You might find it tough getting up if you're too far back... I did with my baby, especially as he is quite heavy.

Make sure that you stock up on meds... I didn't get any from the hospital and my husband could only get limited amounts at once from the shops.

It really varies from person to person but we live in an old house. We have 1 bathroom on the ground floor and there are 2 and a half staircases between it and our bedroom. I've had 2 emergency sections (the first being a lot more of an emergency) and had no issues by the end of the 1st week reaching said bathroom from our bedroom. I stayed 3 nights in hospital with dc1 (he was in NICU) and 1 night with dc2. With both I was up as soon as I got to the ward and was moving around. I would really recommend that as the first steps hurt the most and it just got progressively easier.

With my 2nd, I was walking 3 miles a day (preschool run, including getting from sea level up the cliff path to the next village) by 2 week with the pram.

I had a semi elective last year after failed induction, was up and about on the ward a few hours after and discharged 24 hours after, went to the super market and out for coffee after 48 hours, we are in a 3 story house so I had to take it easy getting upstairs and sitting up from lying was sore but it was so much easier than I expected, I was driving after 10 days too. I'm having an ELCS for DS2 on Monday so hoping this ones the same although will be a little harder with a 17 month old too, DP is off work for 2 weeks which will be a big help

I had an emergency c section 9 days ago and am recovering better than I imagined. The only thing I struggle with is getting in and out of bed but apart from that using the stairs is fine, getting in and out of the shower (in the bath) has been fine, we’ve been out for a few walks and as long as you take it steady and know you’re limits it’s fine. I was surprised how much you were expected to do yourself in hospital afterwards but they were on hand 24 hours a day if I needed them (the first 24 hours they helped me dress him and passed him to me for feeding but after that I was expected to be a little more independent). I have found it frustrating not being able to do everything i hoped and have had a couple of emotional moments but overall it’s honestly nowhere near as bad as I imagined. Also, the scar is much neater than I imagined and considering it was an unplanned c section, I have felt quite relaxed about the whole situation including having the scar and don’t have any regrets or mixed emotions about not being able to deliver naturally

I had an ejected section back in Jan and it was great, honestly. The procedure itself was very smooth and the recovery was so much easier / better than I expected. Not to say it was easy (Because it wasn't) but was certainly manageable with pain relief. I think day 3 was worst but I was more uncomfortable in bed on that day more than anywhere else.

I was happily doing more after 5 days or so. My husband had 3 weeks off but I was great (but tender) before he went back.

Take the painkillers, keeping on top of the pain was no 1 for me, don't make life hard.

I was fine going upstairs to the loo etc. Could dress myself / shower the same day even, just sore.

Also, for reference, this was my second child (I had a 2.5yo son) and although I couldn't get down on the floor to play etc for a little while, I could manage to look after him (make meals, put him to bed etc).

Good luck.

One thing to mention, not to freak you out but to prepare you, you can feel things during the procedure. You're aware someone is there but they really look after you. I just didn't expect it That's all. X

To put the pain into context - I had severe SPD before birth, and was amazed that a couple of days after the section I could stand on one leg and put my own socks on! I was in so much pain before that I was used to being in pain, and post c section (with pain meds, obvs) was better than pre.

I had a section last Wednesday. I’ve been on nurofen and paracetamol full dose past 3 days have been reducing paracetamol already and this morning I haven’t taken my morning nurofen yet and haven’t taken anything since 9pm last night so the improvement in pain in just a week is already incredible. A week on i can get out of bed and the sofa on my own ok but the first few days it really helped for dh to help pull me up. The main issues are in and out of bed and in and out of sofa and twisting (eg licking up baby from Moses basket next to bed) is hard. But in just a week you’ll be amazed how it will be improved already. It’s so important to rest and not push yourself initially though.

I’m new to this site so not sure if this is the right place to ask but does anyone experience internal pain from their cesarean years afterwards? I had a cesarean 3 years ago and still get intermittent pulling type pains every now and then, usually on one side only. I wonder if it’s adhesions but would rather not go to doc for investigations. It’s by no means an unbearable pain and I’ve no issue with putting up with it, I just wondered if it’s fairly common!