C-section questions

[Naturenamespourhomme]

Evening

I'm 36 weeks and baby is breech so waiting for appointment to find out my options.
I've never had an operation of any kind so the after care and recovery from a section is worrying me. I had the best shower of my life after my first- can you shower after a c section?

Also, is there the option of music, softer lights etc or does that depend on the hospital?

Any other experiences/tips you think it would be useful to know about?

Thanks

You won’t be able to shower immediately. You’ll be in bed for six hours or so and have a catheter in for a further six, but you’ll be able to shower after that if you feel up to it. I can’t remember when I showered but it was definitely the next day.

I’m four weeks post mine and the recovery has been so much better than I expected. I think having a planned c section where you don’t labour at all definitely helps. Honestly the hardest bit of mine was being nil by mouth before hand as I kept being put back when emergencies came in.

The midwives made me have a shower the same evening after my c section, and it was fine.
Not sure whether lights and music are an option in every hospital. I thought about asking for dim lighting and then decide I’d rather the surgeon could see what he was doing.
I cried my eyes out before the operation because I was so scared but it turned out to be a wonderful experience.
I felt sick from the anaesthesia a couple of hours later and vomited. This was a bit scary because I thought I might burst open. You don’t burst open.
drink loads of water after the operation because they won’t let you out until you’ve done a massive wee.
ive got enough children now but if Idid have another, I would definitely have another section.

You asked for tips too:

It can delay milk coming in. It definitely did for me but my baby wasn’t with me afterwards. I was really glad I’d collected colostrum pre delivery to keep him going.

Take a pillow for the car journey home (use it to cushion your scar from the seat belt).

High waisted knickers for after!

Make sure your birth partner appreciates that it’s major surgery and you will need a lot of help. DP even had to put the surgical stockings on for me.

Thanks both great advice. I hadn't even thought of having to be nil by mouth.
Good point about the surgeon being able to see!! I would also worry about bursting open...

How long were you in hospital for afterwards? Was it difficult picking up the baby?

I was walking around primark by day 6. But I was also attending the hospital every 3 days as it was covid and no one came to your house. Keep up with your meds. Shower daily, gently pat or air dry. Don't do too much, but don't stay in bed.. My biggest shock was realising I was going to be naked from the waist down I thought I'd have some paper knickers on haha.

Also bring peppermint tea and I had terrible reflux after x

I had an emergency C-section so not quite the same, but I was in for 3 days afterwards (and 2 days before). It was very difficult to move to pick up my baby, especially when the catheter was still in. They will try to get you moving asap though, but it's not easy.

Agree with PP re drinking loads. I was majorly thirsty anyway, maternity hospitals are generally really hot, but once the catheter was out they wanted, if I recall correctly, 500ml of urine. I did it in one go cause I'd drank so much! They just gave me a wee cup with a jug which would have been a pain to constantly refill but thankfully I took a big bottle in to use.

I had an EMCS first time and an elective with my second. Second was much calmer because, obviously, it wasn't an emergency. The surgical team were great, it's major surgery but they do it day in day out and kept me calm, even made me laugh. They asked if I minded having music on, it was just something like Smooth FM so 80's/90's cheese, lights were bright for obvious reasons!

I'd recommend trying to get up as soon as possible and moving about as much as possible. Take the drugs they offer and when you get home, take them regularly for at least the next few days - I found I started dropping the amount of paracetamol I needed quite quickly but kept up the diclofenac until it was done.

Massive pants and thick pads(I liked the Boots ones), more than what you think you'll need as you bleed loads and need regular changes and loose, high waisted clothes.

Take lots of snacks to munch on when you're back at your bed - ones you can easily reach and use one hand for. TBH I'd also take some pasta pots or something as hospital food is rank - no way it can be nutritious!

From c.3 months PP I've also been seeing a massage therapist to help my recovery. She is trained in scar work and highly recommends silicon strips to promote healing and reduce keloid scarring. My GP friend also mentioned them to me.

If you plan on Breastfeeding, milk can come in a little later because your body hasn't gone through the full birth experience/hormones so I'd recommend taking a breast pump in with you and doing some additional expressing on top of all the skin to skin and feeding you do. My milk came in by day 3 with number 2 and I out that down to expressing. I tried to express colostrum in advance too but wasn't able to get much out at all.

For home, if you have upstairs, I'd recommend having changing stuff downstairs as well as up, saves having to climb up and down in the early days.

Good luck, its all worth it when you get to snuggle that wee baby!

I’ve had 2 sections. Both delightful experiences, radio 2 playing 😂, very calm. Felt super safe. I stayed one night both times and like a PP says don’t do too much, but don’t stay in bed. Had immediate skin to skin etc. All in all, really good experiences.

Hey there! I've had a C-section, and I work the other side of the drapes as my job.

You can shower, but I wouldn't recommend it until later in the evening/the next morning. It takes some time for the feeling to return in your legs. Then when you can move it's in a sort of hunched shuffle to start with. My timeline was 2am section. 3.30am recovery. 7am legs able to move enough to stand. 5pm postnatal. 8am catheter out. 10am blessed shower.

You can have whatever music you like! There's normally a speaker and someone with access to a music app in theatre, but it's usually easier to have that sorted yourself. If you want to have a particular song playing when baby comes, just let us know so we can tell you when to hit play. As for lights, we can have them dimmed before the operation starts, but we need to turn them up once the surgeons start.

As for tips, the best advice I can give is to get moving ASAP. It doesn't have to be much, or far, but at least get up and out of bed. But don't overdo it. I did, and I've paid for it with poor wound healing. Have plenty of snacks and drink to hand. Have your own ibuprofen and paracetamol in your bag, but take the hospital's when offered. Take your meds regularly. Don't wait for the pain to start. Stay ahead of it until you feel ready to taper down on the painkillers.

Best of luck no matter how this baby is birthed!

Midwife here. Yes to music, you can often Bluetooth your phone to a speaker, or they have an iPad with music to choose. You can dim the main lights and they obvs have the lights above you on bright.

enhanced recovery is a thing, so you should be drinking water up until the point you walk to theatre, midwives will try to help you up after 6hrs. If you feel up to a shower after that you can do. Catheter will come out the next morning usually and you need to wee a minimal of 150ml.

everyone’s experience however will obvs be different

• can you shower after a c section?

yes! I was so surprised that I was allowed to have a bath after I got home. I love a bath and had prepared myself to go weeks without one due to not thinking I would be waterproof 😂

• Also, is there the option of music, softer lights etc or does that depend on the hospital?

yes, I’d imagine it depends on the hospital but I did an abdominal birth online course with the mindful birth group and it had loads of ideas of what can be done in a section

• Any other experiences/tips you think it would be useful to know about?

id never had any kind of operation or even a cannula before so I dreaded the whole thing. The cannula was the only painful part of the entire operation and it was just a nip. The spinal was completely fine. You can still feel touch, this was the one thing I hadn’t prepared myself for. Don’t panic that you’re going to feel them cutting you, it just feels like someone’s hand is resting on your bikini line, so bizarre. From the curtain going up to seeing the baby was extremely fast, like literally 1-2 minutes for me! If you like peppermint tea, have that and if not buy colparmin capsules. They stopped any trapped wind after the operation, air can get trapped in random places like your shoulder and really hurt but I took colparmin and didn’t get it at all. Put a pillow in the car as a treat on the way home so you can lie it across your stomach before you put the belt over you. It just makes it feel a bit nicer. Wear sliders or flip flops, you won’t be able to put your own shoes on. Put spare pants, pads and a nightie right at the top of your bag. I didn’t and bled through my nightie during the night then struggled to find anything in my bag. It was the most pathetic part of my recovery 😂 someone on here suggested having pads already stuck onto pants and at that point I so wished I had done that. Take a bag for rubbish, lots of snacks and make sure someone sets all round your bed up with everything you need before leaving you.

The only bad part after getting home was getting up from bed. It was so hard to do without needing to do a sit up. I ended up sleeping in my pregnancy pillow kind of propped up so I could swing my legs round easier. It was a great experience for me, even though some of this doesn’t sound that great 😂

Oh and take laxatives from day 1.

My ds was born at 3.30pm and my catheter was out and I was in the shower by 7pm so it's not strictly true that you'll be bed bound for 6hrs. Suspect it's variable. I had feeling back by the time I left recovery and I went home the next morning both times.

I was allowed music, the lights were bright (theatre type lights) they did ask if I wanted to know what they were doing /when /see anything (I didn’t!) It was all very organised. Pain free.

I couldn’t wait to get in the shower and was made to have one the same day (we all did). Catheter out, wee, shower. It hurts like you’ve done a 1,000 tummy crunches after. Take the oramorph, go easy on the cocodamol. Take the meds, once the pain kicks in it’s harder to stop it, because wards are noisy I think you focus more/awake more and can’t relax so it aches more.

Picking up baby was fine, they pass baby to you the first day/night. The first three/ five days is the most uncomfortable. After that it steadily improves. Keep your scar dry after showering at home, I used to lie down for a few mins and let the air get to it. I was told not to bath. Prop yourself up as it devilishly hard to get out of bed.

I wore massive pants, you don’t want anything cutting in to you. I loved my belly band to keep everything supported.

Take snacks. Good luck 💐

Have a look at 'gentle c section' different trusts will word it differently, but basically you can have whatever you want. Music, dimed lighting, silence so baby hears your voice first, you can have the drapes lowered and 'push baby out' of the incision (this helps clear their lungs like a vaginally birth would) baby can come straight to you and you can have delayed cord clamping etc it's YOUR birth, Your Baby and YOUR choice! (Unless baby isn't happy and needs support when born obviously)
I was booked in for a section with my 2nd but ended up going natural so did alot of research on it, consultant was very pro these choices, it helps it feel less like a major surgery so lowers the associated 'risks' of slower milk coming in, mucky lungs, bonding etc
Congratulations. Baby soon!!!

Thank you all so much for sharing this really excellent information. I appreciate the time taken and there's really helpful stuff here

I felt numb along the scar line for a long time after. It's normal again now. Definitely get bigger knickers for comfort.

Great stuff on this thread - yes to peppermint tea, yes to big knickers, yes to slide on shoes (but remember you’ll probably leave in support stockings so my flip flops looked funny!). When you’re first up and about you can’t easily bend down to the floor, so if you drop something squat down with your knees to pick it up. The painkillers can be constipating so take stool softeners if offered! Also c section babies can be more congested at first - I wasn’t warned about this and would have been nice to know!

I wore massive Tena knickers after my section, much easier than faffing with pads and more comfortable.

Definitely pack some peppermint tea, trapped wind is no joke, it was the worst pain of the whole birth and recovery.

Eat plenty of fruit and drink lots of water to keep things moving, straining to poop post section is not fun

They do enhanced recovery now.
Nothing to eat from midnight, lucozade until 7am and then water only.
They get you out of bed asap. I wanted my catheter out as soon as possible. C-section was 8am and catheter out at 3pm. Got out of bed asap and shuffled round to the loo etc.
Some women on the ward were quite happy to stay in bed with catheters in for days on end, the lady opposite me had been in bed for 72 hours straight with a catheter in as she didn't feel ready to get up.
I was home the next day.
Much preferred my c section to my first vaginal birth!!!

Tips as a two time c section mum

Lots of water after lots and lots and lots as mentioned previously you pee (after catheter has been removed and you're standing at approx 8ish hours afterwards) you pee into a jug and only if it's a large amount will they consider letting you home

I stayed two nights after baby one, they offered to let me go after one night but surprisingly the midwives were great with helping me establish breastfeeding so I opted to stay a second night

I stayed one night after baby two

Every new mum is scared of the first poo after birth but constipation is a huge issue after a c section as everything has been rustled about in there 😂 so water and soft fruits are crucial

Peppermint capsules / tea are great for the wind you'll inevitably have! Trapped wind after a c section can be so painful

Massive knickers

At home I used the sofa cushions to help make me a propped up almost upright sleeping position for the first few nights (I was breastfeeding so couldn't hand night time feeds solely to my DH and this helped me not have to 'sit up' every couple of hours

Air your scar - if you're on the other side and your scar is 'hidden' in tummy creases then dry thoroughly after showering with hairdryer on a super cool setting as damp scars are a danger of infections

Pack things in your hospital back like squeeze water bottles / easy to grab snacks

This is a little controversial but I asked for midwives to change baby's nappy until I felt more mobile and confident- I didn't want to hurt myself doing something that they could assist with and they were more than happy to help

Picking up my baby was easy - both were under 8lb and I could manage them in one arm and felt I was only using arms to hold them

Don't push yourself once home - I had the luxury of a decent age gap between both of mine and my husband was on paternity but for the first week I rested well and had him do nearly all nappies and changing of baby and I rested my body and only really dealt with feeding. Do not feel guilty of this or bad anoint bonding you've got a lifetime of nappies / rocking to sleep ahead and the more you rest in week one the better week two will be

Whilst the above may seem a little alarming, I was shuffling pretty happily after 8 hours. I was home in my own house after about 24-30 hours and after about 5/6 days felt very 'comfortable' which I'd say is comparable to a pretty regular vaginal birth with stiches. After 3 weeks I felt absolutely fine (I wouldn't have been off running of riding a horse) and personally (controversially) I have no damage to vagina or perineum and have no incontinence issues like so many of my vaginal birth friends

Great thread! Thanks for asking. Prepping myself just in case !!!!

I had a c section 4 months ago. It was a gentle c section in which the drapes were dropped and I could see my baby being born. Not all hospitals offer this so you might need to ask.
I didn’t eat from 10pm the night before- only sips of water. I didn’t have an epidural, only a spinal which wears off faster. After surgery, I started to breastfeed with support of the midwives. I had my baby on the Thursday and by Saturday my milk had properly started coming in.
I was numb for around 3 hours and then by mid afternoon I started to walk around slowly. The catheter was taken out by the evening. It gets taken out faster as long as you drink lots!
I had support moving around by the midwives that night as I was not able to sit up or lie down on my own. I was home the next day.
Make sure you rest lots, everyone else can do the running around for you. My dh lifted my baby and placed her on me for the first week. He changed all the nappies as I found it very painful to bend. I started going short walks by day 4 as it helped ease some of the pain. I had clotting injections to take for 10 days after surgery.

I’ve had 2 elective sections.

At my hospital you can have your own playlist but we weren’t organised enough. There was a maternity assistant lady who chose a radio station instead.

Worst bit IMO is the spinal going in, a horrible pinching feeling and then I go really faint when they lie you down afterwards.

Anaesthetist is the one who will stay by your head, keeping an eye on your stats, making you feel non-faint if you start to etc. Also she’s the one who takes all the photos for you (give her DH’s phone).

You can ask for the curtain to be lowered when the baby comes out - ask ahead of time as my crew seemed surprised I’d requested that!

Tell you midwives and surgeon in the pre-brief (is that a word??) what your concerns are if any and they will reassure you.

Having an ELCS in 6 days so I'm following this thread with great interest, thanks OP!