Mums' experiences post C-Section?

[Hazel4support]

I’m hoping all of you who have experienced delivering your little one by c-section can give me your thoughts please! 😊

Let me start by telling you my experience and hopefully you can share your thoughts on what I am proposing to market for future mums to use.
I had a natural birth on my daughter but 2 years later my son was delivered via emergency c-section.

I have to say I found the pain in my lower abdominal muscles extremely uncomfortable when trying to sit up in the hospital bed and also when I needed to rise out of the bed to a standing position.
This made things a lot more difficult for trying to feed and lift my son when the nurses weren’t available to help me.

Normally we use our abdominal muscles every day to move and when these muscles are after the trauma of a c-section, it can be very sore and upsetting when you can’t do the basic things like rise up and tend to your new born baby.
So as a result of my experience, I have developed a knee strap that I’m hoping will help new mums transition up to a seated or standing position.

The strap is soft material with a Velcro close and it is placed above the knee.  There is a handle on the top of it that you will use to pull yourself upwards.  By using this handle, you are using the strength in your arms rather than relying on your abdominal muscles to pull yourself upwards.
This strap is not bulky and can go over your pyjamas or leggings.
I have attached a couple of photos of the strap on my bare leg.

Please let me know your thoughts on whether you think this would help new mums to sit or stand up with less pain experienced in their abdomen. 
Appreciate your thoughts!
 

[Pimpmyfeet]

What advantages does the strap have versus holding the underside of your leg?

[Hazel4support]

Thank you for your reply.
With the strap, it is obviously visible, so it reminds you to use it so you don't put unwanted pressure on your abdomen.
The idea would be that these straps are readily available in maternity hospitals for all patients to use.

[Laserbeam24]

Hello! I had the same experience as you after my section. 6 months later and my abs still haven't recovered, to the point I need to use my entire body to turn the trolley when I'm shopping.

Your invention, in theory, is wonderful. Especially for when you're discharged from hospital and back home in your own bed (without rails to help pull yourself up!). However, I worry about the practicality of introducing this.

www.incontinenceshop.com/helping-hand-company-leg-up-leg-lifter-yellow-26-65cm?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3JanBhCPARIsAJpXTx7vI7AGKwAdRAgT06RWeJAD8OXxaVtoEGxXiXcApUaUjFgRfDrrBkkaAjM-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

This device exists, for a different purpose mind you, but essentially the same thing. It's widely used in hospitals already, being introduced by occupational therapists. I also worry about hospitals being able to afford this product, and give it out to every woman who's had a section. It would also involve OT's and physios having to asses the patient and 'prescribe' this helping hand. I'm not sure if mother/baby units actually have these staff. The NHS (as I'm sure you know) is in dire financial straights and I don't think this would be a viable option. There would also be an infection control risk if they were to be 'reusable'. I would also wonder if it would impede recovery, by essentially allowing your abs to remain disengaged?

Brilliant product though, and I love that you've come up with it as a result of your own experience. Maybe a rethink about your buyers, perhaps promoting your product yourself, or approaching 'high street giants' like boots or superdrug instead of advertising it to hospitals would be a better solution here?

[Hazel4support]

Hi there, thanks for your detailed reply and sorry to hear about your abs, it's not easy!
Yes I have seen that device before for lifting legs and I believe it's more geared around leg mobility issues as I spotted it in a local nursing home.
Thanks for the feedback re the time/resource needed in the hospital, I understand the point completely. I was thinking the nurse could explain it simply to the patient in a couple of minutes as it's pretty straightforward (I hope!) & the packaging would have easy steps on it to show how to do it.
Overall I was hoping that it would free the nurses time up from helping patients sitting up & getting out of bed, when this time could be spent on more serious things. Plus benefiting the patient by providing more comfort.
But you're correct, it comes down to financials and yes the NHS is under a lot of strain.
I really appreciate your feedback, you're very thoughtful for such a detailed response, thank you. Maybe the giants are a better option!