Swimming after c-section; not sure if i'm OK

[barneybear]

hi
it's 11 weeks since my second c-section. operation went fine and i've been fine in myself ever since. have done vigorous walking with two in a buggy and some hill walking with my dog. no effects whatsoever.

so i went for a swim last night; nothing vigorous, and only did 16 lengths. today my tummy doesn't hurt but i've had a weird sensation, just like a 'feeling in my tummy' like i know i've used it if that makes sense. probably a lesser ache to that similar to when you've done a number of sit-ups.

i just don't know if this means i'm overdoing it or not because there's no bad pain just a sensation.

my tummy is still so big and i've 1.5 stone of weight to lose and without being shallow i want to lose this weight; i'll feel better about myself when i do!

has anyone had a similar experience?

thanks,

When you have a section they have to cut through some muscles and sometimes they also cut the nerves. I've still got a patch where I have no feeling at all.

Maybe you've stretched some newly repaired muscle and you aren't feeling pain in the normal way because the nerve ending haven't recovered yet.

If you haven't been swimming for a few months and this is your first swim since cs, then I would say 16 lengths is vigorous!

If you belong to a gym ask advice from there but it would seem sensible to take things a bit slower. There will still be hormones in your system keeping ligaments looser then pre pregnancy.

Hi, totally agree with what everyone else has said - the swimming has probably jiggled a lot of the muscles and nerve endings about in your tummy, which is what that weird feeling is - afraid to say you can look forward to having that for up to two years until everything really fully settles down; I had a terrible emergency c-section which left my tummy muscles in a total mess, even now, three years later I get the odd twinge and pulling feeling.

I'd really take it a lot slower, maybe you could swap swimming for some aqua-aerobics instead?

standard practice in the UK for a c section is NOT TO CUT through muscles, if they had done so you wouldn't be this active and painfree after 11 weeks.

Your nerves have been damaged as they lay in the tissue under the skin and once cut rarely grow back to full potential again, so the loss of sensation around your tummy is normal and proabably a lifetime thing.

With swimming its difficult to gage your limit as your in a weightless surrounding IYKWIM, and therefore you will feel the effects the next day etc more than at the time of swimming.

your muscles have probably been used in a different way and thats what you can feel.

I wouldn't worry so long as your able to walk around, have no bleeding or pain etc.

and i would keep up the swimming TBH its great for tummy muscles, and after a while you won't feel this feeling as your muscles will get used to the way its being used again.
although i wouldn't be doing 16 lengths again for a while!