how much does a c-section hurt afterwards?

[griffintribe]

I had a very bad birth with my dd1 and i am thinking of having a c-section with my second (as advised by consultant).

How much pain will there be afterwards?

My dd1 will be 2.7yrs old, will i be able to cope alone with her and a new baby 2 weeks after birth or will i need someone to help me?

pain can vary from woman to woman, some women are up and about very quickly, for others it takes longer. no harm getting some extra help if you can anyway, always a good idea to try not to over exert yourself after any sort of birth. 2 weeks after you should be ok, but don;t try to rush things.

It really does depend on the individual. I had one and was fine, was on Volterol painkillers for a few days, but the pain was not bad at all, was up and walking 12 hours after OP to go to loo and 24 hours later was fine. I had help for 6 weeks, cos my DM fussed but to be honest apart from driving was fine after 2 but I didn't have a 2 year old then. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I've had 3 and they've all varied. 1 & 3 not too bad, 2 - dreadful. Alone with one, two or 3 kids after 2 weeks though (did need somehelp those first 2 weeks).

Mine wasn't great I needed help for four weeks just bending and twisting was crap couldn't lift for that time either.

In general I'm not a superfast healer though (was still having pain twinges 18 months on)

Am 26 weeks pregnant with no. 1, so no personal experience but my mother and one of my friends has had c-section.

Have you thought about a second opinion? Why have you been advised to have a c-section? As you know, its a major operation. I will have one if medically necessary but not an elective.

You will need someone to help you lift 2 year old afterwards (bathing, nappy-changing and just generally getting on with things).

Please do not push yourself afterwards - its not worth risking tearing the stiches (happened to my mother who leaked in the bath but she also had an infection - but this was back in 1972!).

I had EC first time round and recovery was very quick. Was up and about in no time, but couldn't drive for a few weeks. However, having just had a vbac with DS2, I can say for a fact that the recovery is MUCH easier with a natural birth, and I had ventouse delivery with episiotomy. DS1 is 2yrs 2mths and I dread to think how I would have coped with him had I had to have another section. Either way, good luck and I wish you all the best! Take arnica before the section and after - helped me a lot. And put sanitary towels over the scar - helps prevent your knickers rubbing against it!

I had 2 c-sections. One emergency & one elective (on medical advice). Afterwards they give you painkillers and tbh, I didn't feel hardly any discomfort at all. They were a doddle tbh.

I had an emergency one and the pain is not as bad as labour but at 2 weeks all I could do was walk about 10 yards without clutching myself because of the pain.

Tried pushing a pram for 5 mins at 4 weeks and was back to the original agony again.

By 5 1/2 weeks most of the pain had gone because that's when the stiches dissolve. (Providing they've used dissolvable stiches). However, I still have occasional pain 9 months later.

But as you can see from all the other posts - it depends on the person.

Agree with Tigger - it's nowhere near as painful as labour, so if you've had a first birth with little or no pain relief you shouldnt find it bad. But the recovery time takes longer. Still all quite manageable though. Don't push yourself too hard.

I was given loads of pills after my emergency cs with DS1 and the pain wasn't too bad at all. The first few days are pretty bad but i was out and about walking along the river with DS1 in his pram when he was 4 days old. BUT it absolutely kills if you laugh or sneeze.
Tbh I have worse memories of the episiotomy and the weeks of pain afterwards than the cs.

Tigger15, wow that sounds really bad. I didn't have anywhere near that amount of pain. I was functioning pretty normally after two weeks and went for a birthday meal out after 3 weeks (DS left with doting grandma for a few hours).

Griffintribe- first of all with a planned section the recovery time is less because basically you haven't been through the stress of labour and also they don't rush to get the baby out.

I had an emergency one. I took voltral (great up yer bum painkillers very effective) for 24 hours, had the epidural removed two hours after surgery and had two paracetamols three times a day for five days. And I am a total wuss when it comes to pain.

I was also legging it (literally) up and down the recovery ward two hours post partum to prove I was fine and dandy to go up to the ward (actually I was trying to get them to send me home but they weren't having it since I did have pre-eclampsia).

A few weeks later I got a few pains when trying to get off the floor after changing DD but nothing too bad. I did overdo it though and do gardening at 2 weeks post partum (don't do this!)

griffintribe i think you should try to bump this tomorrow or repost and get some advice from a doula or midwife. your consultant is always going to give you a very medicalised pov and more info will help.

i had a cs after a failed induction/early waters breaking and i was out of bed 24 hours later, no pain killers not even paracetamol. but my friend who had similar birth was on morphine and couldn't use pushchair for three weeks. you really can't tell.

Smiling, I had exactly the same as you:

emergency cs with DS1
ventouse with episiotomy with DS2.

The second recovery was harder imo.

I had an em cs late at night and was up and about the following morning. I was moving slightly gingerly as it felt odd but there was no pain at all. Didn't take any painkillers at all, just rested and took it a bit easy for a couple of weeks.

It varies woman to woman but in my case it really didn't affect me in any significant sense.

i had a caesarean for similar reason to you and my ds was 2.8 when the new baby arrived. my dh had 3 weeks off (2 weeks paternity and 1 week holiday) and i was ok when he went back to work although it was bloody hard work and my ds watched a lot of tv!

don't want to scare you but i was in a heck of a lot of pain after my c-section - even though i was having 2 hourly morphine and other drugs as well, i couldn't get out of bed to pick dd up for the first day or two, and i was in agony walking to the loo - think i spent a week in bed after i had had her (couldn't bear walking up and down stairs). however 4 weeks post op it was mild discomfort rather than pain and the hardest thing i found to cope with was the sleepless nights and energetic toddler!

i have a very low pain threshold though and i know morphine/pethidine type drugs don't do much for me pain relief wise. however i am still glad i had a caesarean rather than a repeat of my first vaginal delivery. it was agony for 3-4 days but that was it, over and done with.

everyone is different though and a few of my friends who have had sections say they weren't in any pain whatsoever, good luck whatever you decide

mine was cs under GA after incredible pain during procedure and 28 hour labour. Day after was up, day after that was up & about! was stiff ad dizzy but no pain at all. suffered 2 scar infections 2-3 weeks after but apart from that no pain just enjoyment and tiredness from new arrival.

Had two sections which were not my choice but I think you feel a lot better once the stitches have come out - around the 10 day mark as you are able to straighten yourself up better IYKWIM.

With the first section I did quite a lot I shouldn't have done as DH was very poorly and I did not have any family that lived near us - we were down south then and they were in Yorkshire. Although MIL came to stay with us she expected me to wait on her hand and foot and could not understand why I was not happy about this. (She also used to walk out of the room even in mid conversation every time I bf) so you can imagine just what I had to put up with.

Second time around, things easier as DH ok and parents took DS1 to stay with them for a few days. Drove at around 4 weeks this time.

Your own body will let you know if you are doing too much.

Much much less painful than monster episiotomy.

Recovery time much faster too also after monstrous first labour.

Hurts, but different sort of hurt, not in your nether regions IYKWIM, so less intense

Very interested in this thread as I had an awful birth with DD (third degree tear and incontinence followed by further tests, visits to a consultant and physio and counselling for about a year) and will be asking about elective caesareans this week.

(Not sure if it strictlycounts as 'elective' though as my consultant recommended it after DD because of the risks w another vaginal delivery - just need to ask because it's a different hospital and I'm worried they won't be able to get my notes and will say no! )

In my case, it was quite strong pain for the 2/3 days I was in hospital. I remember being bent double when I had my first shower in hospital and was on morphine the whole time.

I took painkillers for about a week at home, and every day felt a little stronger and better. After a week, I was able to sit up without too much discomfort, walk up and down the stairs with no problem, put a wash on etc. I just remember saying to someone at the time "well it was much better after a week, but that week was pretty tough".

I had relatives staying with me for 5 weeks afterwards to help out with the older two children, mainly the school runs as I wouldn't have wanted to push a double buggy for at least 6 weeks, but also just allowing me to focus and bond with the baby in peace (this would have applied to a vaginal birth as well).

You will get a wide range of first hand experiences here which should help you.

I had v quick and easy recovery from first (elective) walking the dog with DD in sling by day 5.

Second (emergengy following 2 days of labour) was a much slower recovery took about 4 weeks to be able to walk dog - TBH more because felt like pelvic floor was going to fall out from all the unsuccessful pushing - sorry TMI.

Im having another baby in April and have opted for c-section, DH is like yours off for 2 weeks, then I havnt organised for any help during the day but have asked mum if she'll come over and give a hand bathing DS (15 months) in the evening as I know will more than likely have probs lifting him in and out. Im currently training him to do everything else, ie standing up in cot, climbling on my lap rather than picking him up and climbing in the car seat (proving quite interesting) so hoping to manage everything else.

In general people tend to say recovery is easier following elective.

I had emergency c-section and found recovery pretty quick. I took all the pain relief offered when in hospital (morphine for 2 nights, then others but haven't got a clue what) but the most discomfort was from the staples used around the section as they were really tight. As soon as midwife had removed them I felt much better.

Took DD for a walk about 5 days after her birth. If I was to have another I'd definitely have an elective as still suffering from bad memories around childbirth.

Given that your DD1 will be 2.7 I'd definitely say to get someone to help out if they can.

I had planned with dd1

I was up within 24 hrs showered and dressed.Yes it hurt when I bent over but nothing I could not cope with and I took arnica straight away which I am convinced speeded my recovery.

I was driving after a week and although I took it easy, it did not really hold me back.

Saying that I am 40.2 and am hoping for natural this time as I think it would be harder with a young child to look after (school run, baths and so on at first)

I had an emergency c section with DD as my induction failed. My recovery was very good. I had her on the Friday night and was back home by Monday lunch time. I didn't need painkillers by the time I was home. I had a slight infection in the scar at one point but was very easily and quickly sorted and caused me no pain. I did follow instructions though and took it very easy - I only had DD so didn't have another child to look after fortunately. My GP wouldn't sign me as okay to drive for 6 weeks which I found a real pain.

However, I wouldn't advise a c section unless absolutely necessary personally. Although mine was a really positive experience and great reovery, it has now left me infertile, and with a lot of pain every month - and this is over 5 years on. I have just had a second gynae op to try and rectify the problems and currently on a nightmare course of HRT too, with more tests and scans to come.