Post c section tips for a terrified mum to be

[ReD96]

Please can everyone give me their top c section recovery tips?
I am absolutely terrified, it may be irrational but I’d say a c section is up there with my biggest fears but baby is breech and I can’t have a ECV because
mine and babies heart beats have been elevated the past 4 weeks.
it will be a few weeks before Christmas and I already have 3 kids at home and my husband only gets a week paternity leave

Hi, I completely understand your fears as my baby (born in June) was also breech and we couldn’t try the ECV. I was so desperate for the birth I had last time but it wasn’t to be.

Had just got my head around a planned c-section but it turned out to be a cat 1 emergency after I went into natural labour and went to hospital an hour after first contraction and I was 9cm dilated 🙃.

I did find recovery hard (I think in comparison to my first) but my top tips are:

• make sure you’re stocked up on pain meds and write your own schedule with reminders of when to take them.
• tie a blanket to the end of your bed to help you up and/or watch a video of how to safely get out of bed after c-section.
• drink peppermint tea/ take peppermint capsule for trapped wind.
• Bring a pillow to put under the seatbelt for the car journey home.
• buy a litter picker to help you pick up anything and everything at home.
• put everything you can at waist level and above beforehand to limit bending.

Try not to let this ruin your last few weeks of pregnancy as everything will be better than expected ❤️

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You need to rest and recover as much as possible. For the week that your husband is home, don’t do anything except take care of yourself and your newborn. He needs to wait on you and take care of the other children.

Once he is back at work, do the bare minimum to get through the day. Have him set you up somewhere central in the house . Have him premake all the food all of you will need while he is at work. It should be grab and go things the children can handle mostly independently. You should not be doing any housework. You do the bare minimum to keep everyone safe and happy until he gets home.

2 C-sections down and I would definitely echo the posts so far. Look after yourself and prioritize your recovery by resting, taking meds and lactulose. Make sure you use the blood thinning injections you are given, they're really important.

The recovery was absolutely fine, a bit sore but nothing like what I had expected. Second time around I popped a couple of stitches by overdoing it (village fair at 5 days PP, 3yo decided to run off while husband was going to the bathroom) and that really set me back. Would recommend being as patient and kind to your body as possible, especially if you're anything like me and love to get out and about!

Best of luck, please don't worry about the recovery, it will be fine xx

I was you a year ago, I started several threads here asking about the pain, recovery, sharing my fears….its manageable, the procedure itself and epidural is not pleasant, but it’s over really quickly. The recovery was a positive surprise for me, I never was in pain. I did ask for dicodeine (or whatever it’s called) straight away and took this in addition to paracetamol and ibuprofen on schedule for the first week (because I’m a wimp when it comes to pain), but this did the trick. I was able to move around slowly from day 2, could lift my baby and go for a coffee. By week 6 I was back at doing exercise classes (carefully, of course). You’ll be fine, but I totally get your worries!

Also, I was able to poo on day 2 without issues (sorry TMI) and never had trapped wind. I’ve read so much about how the first poo afterwards is agony, week-long constipation, and trapped wind being the worst of all pains, but you might not get any of these.

As pp have said, keep on top of your pain meds. Don’t do too much to soon, even if you feel better. I made this painful mistake! Also stock up on mint tea for the bloating! Best of luck!

Take some nice cream like e45 in case of itchy skin , mine was terrible

Peppermint tea / supplement ( for gas)
Make sure you have shoes and slippers you can slip on without bending over
Please don't worry. I really enjoyed mine. Way better than when I had to give birth the other way x

100% this. The physio came on day 2 or 3 and told me this and I sobbed because it was such a game changer

Great tips on this thread. Would only add the great advice I had on avoiding trapped wind was to eat LOW fibre for two days before planned section then back to high fibre when home. And do not under any circumstances do laundry - pulling wet washing out of the machine is really bad for your stitches!

My sister got me a pick up/ litter picking stick it was brilliant saved bending so much!

I understand your fears but there’s nothing to worry about. I had one in February and it was the most relaxing thing ever! If I was to get pregnant again I think I would opt for c section!

All I will say about after care is paracetamol and ibuprofen will be your best friend. Set an alarm for each dose and if you feel better, keep taking them. I did the mistake of stopping because I felt fine then there was pain.

BUY STOOL SOFTENER!!! I cannot explain how much it will help

I've had two and my top tip is suppositories! Skip the stress and drama of the first poo and just use a suppository. I was given them in hospital but I gave birth overseas so might not be a thing in the UK.

Five days in hospital was standard for c section mums in the country we lived in at the time. I guess you'll get sent home much earlier but try not to do everything you usually do just because you're at home, it's easy to overdo it.

Physio in my hospital said not to do the pulling on the rope thing. They advised lying on my side and pushing up sideways.