C section recoveries?!

[Someo]

Due to have a section with this baby due to developing a fistula after my previous births.

I am really apprehensive. All I keep reading is how dreadful the recovery is and people telling me they couldn't stand up because it felt like their insides would fall out!

I'm not scared if the op as such as I know I'll be numb. It's more the horror stories of recovery that are making me panic.

Please tell me they aren't as bad as I'm being told. And is there anything I can buy to make the recovery easier?

It really wasn’t that bad for me, either time. I followed the advice about staying on top of pain relief and not lifting but was pretty mobile straight away. There were a couple of days where it felt sore to stand up but not once upright.

I was back in the gym 6 weeks later after both c sections. Some of it may have been luck but I did look after myself.

I personally don’t know anyone who has had a bad recovery.

Oh goodness no, I've had two c-sections.

One emergency, one elective.

I was in the shower 6 hours later, walked out of the hospital fine and was driving 2 weeks later (after seeking doctor's approval) - I was 24 and 31.

I found my sections very easy and lovely, thank goodness for modern medicine.

I’ve had two emergencies ones and they were both fine, if I had another baby it would be a planned one ( wasn’t that bad at all)

Also my good physiotherapist friend had an elective section having worked in women's health for 20 years.

She was on her horses after 3 weeks.

She said she'd seen too many natural birth horror stories.

I had an emergency caesarean at 38. It was fine. I didn't take any painkillers after I left hospital and was back to my usual activities pretty soon after.

I was also fine! Had an emergency (but not really emergency) section earlier this year.
I am not someone who feels they have something to prove around pain etc but I didn’t even need prescription pain killers after hospital. I was really ok. I took it very slowly and within a few weeks was totally back to normal. First week felt quite delicate but nothing as bad as I was expecting. I would have an elective section next time.

My EMCS recovery was fairly brutal but I think it was probably the five-day labour beforehand that contributed to that!

I had an ELCS six weeks ago: helped out of bed the next morning and walked to the loos, home within 24 hours. Was definitely stiff and in discomfort (not pain, unless I forgot to take painkillers) for a week or two, but not unable to do anything – could shower, sit up to feed, etc. But it’s a handy excuse not to hoover or load the dishwasher.

The worst part is the anti-clotting injections tbh.

Hi OP!
I had a c section (elective, no medical reasons) on 16th Jan so just under three weeks ago. It was a fantastic experience and recovery has been a breeze. Although you will find the responses on here will be very mixed, there will always be people who it didn’t work well for but here’s my experience…

the c section itself was a breeze, the needle in the back was annoying and uncomfortable but nothing major and was over very quickly. The op was smooth, we chatted away to the surgeons and it was all very relaxed. Back in recovery for an hour or so before being moved to the ward. I had a suppository in theatre that meant I couldn’t feel anything until early hours of the morning (section was 1400-1500.
in hospital I had oramorph and paracetamol and I will admit that the following morning when my catheter was removed and I walked to the loo I did think ‘Jesus, what have I done’ but it was just for the day. The following morning the pain had mainly gone, I came off the oramorph and went home.
Now, three weeks ish on and I’m totally back to normal. Came off all painkillers on day 4, walking the dog day 5, shopping/pushing pram etc and housework day 6 as well as sleeping on my stomach. The wound has healed really well, the scar looks like it will be nice and neat.

for me, it’s been a fab experience, the healings been great (much better than people I know you’ve needed forceps or had tears etc) and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

in terms of purchases, big black high waisted knickers that will sit far, far above the wound. Maybe top up on paracetamol and ibuprofen just in case, take a pillow with you for the car ride home to hold over stomach if needed, a long phone charger cable.

My first was a natural birth, then 3 sections due to various reasons.
The recovery from my sections was so much easier than after my natural birth.
For the first 3 days, I felt like I'd been hit by a bus but then absolutely fine as long as I kept on top of my nurofen /paracetamol (don't wait for it to hurt, take every 4 to 6 hours).

An elective c section is a totally different animal to an emergency section or traumatic labour. I loved mine, it was very peaceful, very calm and just an all round positive experience. I was up and moving the next morning (my hospitals policy, yours may even have you up the same day) and by the afternoon I was pottering about quite easily and the next day I was back home. I went to a concert two weeks after she was born and by week 3 I was pretty much back to normal.

My best advice is to take the pain killers, religiously, even if you think you don't need them, take them, it's much better to take them before you need them rather than wait till you really do. Stay active, by active I mean get up and move about not run a 10k or anything, don't worry about the housework, there will be plenty of time for that, accept any and all help that is offered and get some peppermint tea in in case you get trapped wind.

Good luck!

I had an emergency c section for our 6th baby, 5 weeks today. I was in labour for 27 hours from when my waters broke until he was born by emcs. He was getting stressed out and I wasn't dilating past 3cm, so they decided to put me on the hormonal drip but then when his heartbeat started going through the roof, they decided its c section time. I couldn't stop shaking and shivering while the were putting the needle I nmy back but I had a lot of midwives round me holding my hand and encouraging me to stay straight. They were all very lovely and supportive. Afterwards, i felt totally rough. It felt like u had been smashed in the stomach repeatedly with bowling balls. I could barely move. I was really struggling with turning and lifting him up.
After two weeks it starts getting easier but please don't bend down and lift anything heavy. I made that mistake and wound up in hospital with loose stitching and an infection. Still on antibiotics but getting there.....
I have heard a planned c section is much easier and relaxed than an emergency one.

I hope to have a vbac, if we do decide to have 7. I would never want to go through c section but it is all worth it in the end.

Wish you all the best.

I hate surgery so I hated cesareans but needed it done so:

Pain relief for sure, take it every time whether you feel it or not

Prep extra food and freeze it ahead

Have a trolley (I like the IKEA roll trolleys) next to where you will be generally located so you don’t have to get up to fetch water/snacks/baby clothes/diapers/wipes, etc

Wear a compression belt 24/7 (helped me feel more secure that my insides were indeed not gonna fall out)

Get physio to massage the internal scar tissue, you don’t want adhesions there for future. Book ahead as there are not many who provide this service but YouTube videos on this are available

If breastfeeding I found side lying position best

Always roll to your side and push yourself up with your hands, good for core and pelvic floor recovery

Try not to get sick, it is torture to cough or sneeze with the incision.

And don’t laugh. Srsly

I found the first 24 hours pretty awful but I seem to metabolise opiates extremely quickly so painkillers wore off very fast.

But if you get on your feet you will feel better faster (thats not get on your feet and start doing housework and all the baby work thats go for a walk). I also wore a support band around my stomach for a bit, I probably didn’t need it but it made me feel secure. My recovery was very good. To get up from lying down, go onto your side and push up with your arm.

Sounds incredibly tough! Glad you're on the road to recovery. Congratulations too!

Thank you all, it's nice to hear of some straight forward recoveries too!

I’ve had a natural (first baby) and c-section (second baby). I had a second degree tear and lots of internal stitches with DC1.

I found c-section recovery way more intense in the short term but once I was better that was it. It took me the full 8 weeks to really feel like myself again but once I had there wasn’t really any backtrack. With my natural birth I recovered a lot slower, the pain wasn’t as intense as with the c-section but it dragged on forever and a day and I still get twinges from my episiotomy 5 years later!

I needed one dose of oramorph on the ward after my section, but other than that just used paracetamol and ibuprofen without too much discomfort. I healed really well and really quickly, but that’s probably in part due to not doing any lifting for the first three weeks. Whilst DH was on paternity leave, every time the baby needed picking up, he’d get up and pass him to me. For those three weeks we had the next to me on his side of the bed. I thought the recovery would be awful but actually it was fine and much more straight forward than some of my friends who had tears from vaginal delivery.

I'm having one in a few months so this thread fills me with hope it will be OK 👍

I had an emergency C-section 4 years ago and drove myself home 3 days later, rested for a week or two , recovery was easy and I took no meds. I have just had an elective C-section 3 weeks ago again no pain meds at all and checked myself out of hospital 22 hours later. I overdid it on day 3 and was hoovering and bending and I did pay for it day 4 and 5 was very soar so I did take a couple of ibuprofen on them two days. My stitches did pop a little on one side , if that was because I was bending or bad stitches ( unlike my first this time was wonky and not a great stitch) I have had to go the drs to get a dressing put on my stitches until they heal! No bigger. Week 3 now I feel practically back to normal :)

I had emergency one and I had no issues moving about. It hurt sometimes but there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. I didn’t need help to get out of bed, stand up etc.