How many layers of internal stitches are there after a c-section?

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Can't find this on Mumsnet and a very small google gives me too many links with images, no thanks!

I have had 2 standard c-sections, both lower transverse horizontal scars, and very neat and tidy they look from the outside, too.

Obviously there will also be a scar in my uterus, but I'm wondering what else happens in between? I believe that muscles are usually separated, rather than cut, but do they need pulling/stitching back together?

Is the fat stitched back together, or just placed? And what about the peritoneum, does that get cut and stitched back?

Just curious. Feeling all sorts of pulls and prickles, which I know is normal, but a mental map would help me out.

much as i didn't enjoy my cs as much as my vb, i must say that i experienced hardly any pain at all afterwards and didn't even bother with paracetamol after the first day. was moving around fine, sitting cross-legged in bed etc.

HATE what it did to my stomach, though, and can quite see why people get a tummy tuck at the same time.

wrigglershouse- that was really helpful thanks!

That was fascinating, wrigglershouse, thank you.

woah - no wonder it hurt!

I had an emergency c section - it all happened so fast my head was spinning, felt no pain during it but did have a lot and a mean a lot of being pushed and prodded and pulled about. Afterwards it was very very painful cos the stitch felt so tight, painkillers helped though and the RELIEF when the stitch was taken out was fantastic!!!! I could straighten up!

I think if I had known all the details, I would have taken it much much easier once back at home and insisted on more help from DP but cos the scar looked so neat and tidy I felt a bit of a fraud asking for more help. But when I did do too much I suffered for it.

so my advice is, rest as much as you can = for the whole of the 6 weeks post delivery.

That is fascinating, wrigglers. I had the beads at both ends type of stitching and healed well.

After my crash cs, my scar did not heal very well and became keloidal (raised and red). For my elective, I asked the surgeon if she could cut away the scar and stitch it up so that the scar healed better. She offered no guarantees as it could be due to how I scar naturally but said she would try.

It did heal much better second time round . I can now barely see it. Wish I knew her name to be able to thank her.

Does the way the skin is stitched together affect the way the scar heals?

That was interesting, wrigglershouse. I had an em c-s with DD1, and had never thought about how many stitches I had until I saw this thread title

It didn't half tickle when the MW pulled out the long stitch on the top, though it was a massive relief to get rid of it (it was starting to 'pull' IYSWIM).

Re kitstwins c-s without epidural - I think she meant that she had to have a general anaesthetic as her epi didn't work (as I did too).

I had a c section after three vaginal births, have to say my experience was very positive. Was absolutely shitting myself for the same reasons as you maybebaby.

DS due date was Feb 6th earlier this year which was the snowiest day on record here for 25 years - DH couldn't get in and had to walk the last two miles after abandoning the car. My section was scheduled for 9 am but there were no new doctors or midwives around to take over the night shift at 8 am because of the snow so had to wait all day as they trickled in and took care of the emergencies first.

All of this without food or drink and the whole day shitting myself would have probably not have made for the best experience but when it did eventually happen (at 4.45pm) it wasn't as bad as i expected and i healed really really quickly.

Just had one small infection which i believe is quite common and all sorted out with antibiotics, i also had dissolvable stitches which didn't hurt at all. I was up and walking around the next day ( was a bit scared to stand up straight though initially) and went home at 12.30 pm on the 8th so less than 48hrs later.

Its definately not easy option - it DOES hurt afterward no getting away from it but take whatever they offer you (*Swampster makes a very good point with the diclofenac ) and if you are in that much pain ask for something more ( i had a couple of doses of Morphine ) and you will be fine.

Thanks for sharing your positive experience Rosie. My first cs was great too i healed well but scar was keloid like yours blueshoes. It has only just gone very pale and you can hardly see it but parts of it are still smooth thick line iykwim and the 2 ends are thin silvery normal scar-like. I never had an infection or anything and no other keloid scars so not sure why? Maybe they will cut away the scar tissue and join it again then. Im glad yours looks good now blueshoes. It did look like they had overlapped the skin a bit where it was keloid so im wondering if thats why because it joined perfectly at the ends..its obviously going to be thicker where they overlapped it a bit isn't it? Hmm.

Also i didn't have the one long thread, the MW cut each stitch and pulled short strings out of each one, 10 in total is that normal?!

Wow rosie you were out after 48 hours that is great. I was in for 4 days..i hope they consider letting me out earlier this time as im going in on 28th dec, don't fancy leaving DD for 4 days straight after xmas

I had a snow baby too - Feb 2nd - and was out within 48 hours. After my first two CSs I knew I didn't want to spend much time in hospital. The sooner you are on your feet the quicker you recover (I think) and the sooner they let you out. So I was trying to walk pretty much before I could feel my feet. Once I'd managed to have a shower I felt almost human again.

I actually had a really lovely time in hospital, because of the snow the care was excellent - loads of lovely student and retired midwives drafted in. And I had a ward all to myself overnight - bliss!

The most painful thing about the whole experience was (my lovely) FIL's jerky driving on the way home!

Aww sounds lovely swampster My DD was a snow baby too! 1st march 2006. I also had the ward to myself for one night

With my first cs I was in for the full 5 days. With my second they asked if I wanted to go home after 2 days, but unfortunately I had to wait till 3 days because dp was away for work on the 2nd day and couldn't collect me. One thing that really helped me after though was to rearrange the house so that I didn't go upstairs for the first week (I found this the hardest thing to do) and as others have said take every painkiller going....

If you can arrange the support at home (and you should try), it is better to stay in hospital the full recommended time after cs, around 4-5 days.

I was discharged from my elective after 36 hours at my request, because the post natal care was so bad I was not getting support from hospital nor did they allow my dh to visit outside of limited visiting hours to help.

But as swampster said, I felt every bump in the road on the way in the car home. Medically, I was not ready to be discharged though I was a healthy mum with no complications.

I would say that after 5 days (when my stitches were removed), I felt 90% back to normal.

Just to say - my muscles were actually cut instead of parted - poss due to having two years of serious martial arts under my belt that gave me tight abs!

Pretty painful recovery... took me two days to get up - not good when you're trying to avoid dvt! It was only when my surgeon came to see me and asked for a review of my meds that things started to ease slowly. Really not an easy option.

Morphine made me sick - not good when your belly feels like hell!!

Luckily I have a positive stories re. my c-sections. I was out within 48 hours of both my elective sections, and would have been out quicker if we could have found a dr free to sign me out earlier! (very busy central london hospital). I was walking within a few hours of both (had to with DD as she was in SCBU and I wanted to breastfeed her so had to get from my bed to her). I had very little pain, so little I stopped talking my painkillers within a couple of days both times. We all went out to lunch 4 days after DS (second child) and the ladies sitting next to me couldn't believe I'd had a baby 4 days earlier.

I was lucky though. I think i had fabulous surgeons both times, and i guess i just heal quickly - i did nothing special and I'm not super-fit!

Sorry to hear that londonninja. The morphine made me shake for hours. Anyone else? At least i think it was the morphine. The nurses kept telling me to try and stop shaking so they could do my blood pressure! How can you try and stop shaking?? I had no control over it and it lasted about 3 hours. I also had terrible itching everywhere for ages, i made the skin around my mouth bleed from all the scratching.

Rebecca that sounds great! Thanks for sharing!

Maybebaby , yes, I shook and itched, too. It's the epidural, I think. Morphine just made me dizzy and sick. I was grateful when they eventually put me on codeine + paracetamol.

It was an elective section after being diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis, so I was really pretty knackered/ill when it happened. Could be why I found it so hard.

Oh right, sorry to hear you were ill at the time No wonder it took a couple of days to get back on your feet!

yes thinking about it it prob was the epidural that caused the itching and shaking. Mine was an elective due to DD being breech!