What do people mean exactly when they say a C section is a "life-changing operation"?

[dinny]

It really scares me and I'm not sure what is meant by it really - the pain/danger, what?

thanks.

where did you hear that?

I am not sure what they mean tbh, other than that it ends with you have a little tiney baby to look after. That is life changing obviously.

I had a c section....the op itself wasn't life changing....what came out of my tummy has a result of it was though

Don't worry - all will be fine...although tummy not as taut as before but on the whole 'tis ok

tiny

on a couple of threads - think most recent was on the one about the Portland.....hang on....

Never heard it called that before.

Major surgery certainly. Life changing? Didn't change my life in any way that having a vaginal birth wouldn't have done.

Possibly because you come out of the hospital with a baby? I can't think of a much bigger life-change, tbh.

x-posted there!

By JacobsPrincessOfDarkness on Sat 11-Oct-08 23:52:24

If you've got private insurance, then use it. A CS is a life changing op! And if you're private they'll have more time to dicuss your worries etc

and am sure had read something similar a couple of weeks ago...

Having a baby is the life-changing bit

Well I've never worn a bikini since, so I suppose it is life-changing for me.

hmmm, am confused - obv having a baby is life-changing, but the op itself....?

maybe the poster meant having the baby bit

All i can think of is internal adhesions - my bladder was stuck to my uterus after my first c-section. And my IBS started soon after.

oh yuck - deliberately stuck?

no - it is quite common apparently - one of the reasons you sign the consent form.

God, and what happens?

I don't know what's more scary, another VB or C section.....can't bear thought of either!

i have had 2, one emergency one elective, I agree the life changing bit is the baby! The op is a major surgery you should try to prepare for it, like try to sort out a little help for when you get home, a changing table so you dont have to bend, a cot that is raised, although i would add I had none of those things, this is just what I discovered after!!

Its not scary, its just part of the birthing process for some people, take your time look after yourself, allow yourself to heal, and it will be fine, complications can occur, but that unfortunately is life, there is always a possibility of complications when giving birth, however you do it!

i found my c.s life changing in a really negative way. because i was totally unprepared for the possibility

it is major surgery. and there are possible complications and side effects, but you have to weigh up the risks and benefits in your individual case. it is good to hear stories from other mums, positive and negative, and then weigh up your own decision and do your own research

I wouldn't say mine was life-changing although it has had an impact on me and, for a long time afterwards I carried the negatives of that. But my c-section was dreadful, a lot went wrong during it and I had complications both during and after. This is why you sign the consent form because it does carry risk as all childbirth/operations do. They are minimal, but they do occur.

Personally I think they are GRIM but I've read lots of positive posts on here that make me think that I was pretty unlucky. I have five friends who've all had caesareans (emergency or scheduled due to complications - none of us 'chose' them and we all would have preferred a vaginal birth) and they all agree that they're pretty hard in terms of recovery. Certainly none of us were breezing about a few days afterwards and all of us were surprised at how limited we were for two to three weeks afterwards.

I think if you expect a fair degree of discomfort and pain and a slow recovery (i.e three to four weeks before you're up and about and feel yourself again) then anything better than that is going to be a good surpise. Accordingly, if you arrange help for the first week or so and set things up so you can take things easy (lots of home-cooked food in the freezer, the determined mindset that that housework can WAIT for a few weeks, etc.) then that will help hugely.

I think the comment about 'life changing' was probably meant as an antidote to the "oh my c section was a breeze" stories that are about. Certainly some are but I think it's misleading to portray this as anything other than a major operation that brings with it pain, the risk of healing complications and a good few weeks of recovery. Sure, some people bounce back and are very lucky, but it's not guaranteed and I think going in with your eyes open to the possibilities means that you can get things in order to make the post-caesarean period of recovery as easy as possible.

Certainly if I'd known what mine entailed I'd have taken things a lot easier and probably recovered a lot faster. Knowledge is power in my book.

K