Elective C-section recovery - honest tips and experiences please!

[BloomingSunflower]

I know there are a lot of threads on this, but I would just like to get some updated experiences of C-section recovery and tips for a successful recovery.

For a bit of context - this is our first baby after several traumatic miscarriages. It has taken over 6 years to get to this point. It has been a relatively easy pregnancy up to now, other than being diagnosed with GD but I have managed to stay diet controlled up until the end. I have not put on a lot of weight, and have had no other complications (other than his head being on the 97th centile 🫠)

I have been offered an induction, explained the pros and cons of both elective and induction, but decided an elective is the best way forward for me. I do not want my baby getting distressed, and end up in an emergency scenario or an instrumental delivery.

Just to say - I have always wanted a vaginal birth, but spontaneous. If I were to go on my own naturally between now and Thursday then I would absolutely go with it. Unfortunately, my body isn’t showing any signs of being ready.

I am getting a little bit nervous now, I won’t lie, I know recovery is going to be harder, but please be honest. The good, the bad, the ugly.

It's all relative.

I had a c-section with my 4th child after 3 vaginal deliveries. Because its fourth child, life carries on with the other three. So while I might spend as much time as possible lying/sitting/resting, the children still needed getting to school, meals still had to be provided etc. DH helped significantly in first 2 weeks, but mainly that meant he did housework and older children. I just focused on me and baby.

But I can imagine that if I were a first time mum, 'just focusing on me and baby', when most of the additional 'work' you do as a couple is the baby, would feel insurmountable and unfair on the mother. As I said, its all relative.

Likewise, when DC3 was born (not c-section), I was home 6h after delivery and fetching older two siblings ftom school sane day. Because the learning curve is much less steep with 3rd child compared to 1st, so things that might have seemed impossible are not.

Since this is your first child - I'd suggest you enjoy the relative freedom that gives you to relax. Plan to do nothing while your partner is on paternity leave. Let him do all housework and also both of you should accept that it's OK to lower housework standards when you're knackered.

If you breastfeed, I wouldn't fall into the trap of feeling DH needs to be awake with you in the night. He doesn't and it isn't helpful to both be exhausted. Let him look after baby while you go to bed early (bringing to you for feeds) and expect him to take baby early morning after a feed so you can have some uninterrupted rest. In between, accept that you'll have broken sleep. No point resenting this.

Lie-ins like they are now are a thing of the past. It might take you 10+ years of trying to hang on to occassional 10am lie-ins, but in the end you just adjust. Our 4 children are now between 10-20 years old. If DH and I are still in bed by 8.30am, that's a lie-in.

And dummy. They are amazing. No first time mum ever thinks they want to use a dummy. Then you learn how effective independent sucking is to get a calm, content baby.

I’ve had two c-sections, one as an emergency and one elective. I found recovery fine both times. What I’d recommend:

• being as fit as you can be pre op. I know it’s hard when pregnant, but even regular walking helps and means your body is stronger and better able to recover.
• big pants - get the biggest you can find in several sizes bigger than you’d normally get. They’ll go over your scar and be far more comfortable.
• don’t rush your recovery. Walking takes a bit of time and pushing yourself up in bed is hard at first. Get your partner to help, and your mum if she’s around so your partner can have a real break. And you can use the time snuggling your lovely baby.

congratulations on your baby!

I had an elective c-sec due to being high risk. I’d absolutely choose another one. The op itself was a really positive and lovely experience, all very calm. There’s no denying that the first few days of recovery are painful - as previous posters have said don’t push yourself too much at first; even if you feel up to walking, don’t as you will feel it the next day! Keep on top of your painkillers and drink mint tea for the strange pains and rumblings in your digestive system! Good luck and congratulations!

Thank you @LittleHangleton thats really helpful 😊

@HannahEspirit big pants already secured! I have worn them all pregnancy and they are the comfiest things on planet earth. Never will I ever go back 🤣 we are trying to go for walks as much as possible, but I have pretty bad PGP which is worse after a walk. Think this week we will have to go little and often.

@OneZingyPeachPoster thank you for the tip on the peppermint! Were you okay on just paracetamol and ibuprofen? I have it under reliable authority that my trust don’t send you home with any other painkillers.

When did you start to feel semi-normal if you know what I mean? Like when were you able to go for a walk or drive (I know they say 6 weeks but I’ve read it can be earlier than this)

I definitely needed codeine for the first few days so I’d recommend having some in the house just in case! I can’t really remember when I felt semi-normal, it’s all a blur! But after a two weeks I think I was moving well and able to take short strolls.

I’ve had two electives. The first 3 days are painful and I needed help to look after myself and baby. Then I felt a bit more mobile as I hit days 4/5 and could look after myself and baby, and by day 6 the pain faded into the background and I felt able to leave the house and eg go grocery shopping. I was on paracetamol and naproxen (upgraded from ibuprofen). I could go for a longer walk around 2 weeks post birth - NB I also struggled with PGP and it doesn’t subside straight away. It was the PGP that stopped longer walks more than the CS recovery.

While you are in hospital, try to have DH around as much as you can. The midwives at my local hospital got snotty with me when I asked them to help with a nappy change less than 24 hours after the CS and I was feeling in a lot of pain. Get out of the hospital and home as soon as you can assuming you have DH or others to help you.

re:driving, the rule is you can drive as soon as you feel confident that you could do an emergency stop without injuring yourself. I spoke to my Dr and she said most people feel this was by week 3 or 4. That held true for me. You don’t need a Doctor to ‘sign you off’, you can just drive when you feel ready.

I have had four C sections. The first was an emergency . Not sure if it is still recommend now but I took arnica tablets before the section for internal healing. Also the big girl pants are simple the best and now that’s all I have in my knicker drawer. Don’t be tough and not take pain relief. Just take it. I found walking was hard at first but got easier each day so try and walk a little from the start.
huge congratulations on your little one

just for clarity, codeine is not advised in the UK for women who are planning to breastfeed. Dihydrocodeine is the safe alternative.

It's a long time since I had my section (my "baby" has just announced her own pregnancy in fact) but the thing I remember being worst about recovery is that I got hideously constipated. Now in those days, codeine was the standard pain relief and that may have been a big part of it, but I think your bowels can be a bit sluggish anyway, so my top tips would be to make sure you get moving as quick as you can afterwards, drink plenty of fluids and make sure you're eating enough fruit and veg etc. And ask for laxatives sooner rather than later if things aren't moving! I kept being told that it was normal and nothing to worry about and ended up in quite a mess.
Other than that, my section was very straightforward and nowhere near as painful as I was expecting. Hope everything goes well for you.

Thank you so much everyone, your replies have been super helpful. I do have some codeine left over from a previous laparoscopy op, from when they investigated whether my fallopian tubes were blocked (trust me, it’s been quite a journey!)

I am not planning on breastfeeding, as I am a 34HH pre pregnancy, and struggle with the size of them anyway, cannot deal with them getting any bigger. Such a shame as I would have loved to give it a go. That being said, I have got almost 100ml of colostrum ready to go in the freezer which is mad.

Sorry - yes that was the drug I was given! Thanks very much for the correction.

The main stuff has been covered.

get Elastoplast XXL silicone strips for your scar
Massage facia regularly
See a good osteophysio for a pp Mummy MOT. Good ones are miracle workers.

I closed 4 finger diasti recti gap in 6 months.