elective C-section - anything I should know in advance....?

[vmcd28]

Hello, all.
I'm have an elective C-section in a few weeks (39+5 weeks). I have one DS who was delivered "normally", so I know the basics of what to take in the hospital bag. However, is there anything specific to having a C-section that I should know in advance or take to the hospital?

Thanks, folks! x

Just in case you don't know, (i didn't and was shocked and scared)you may get sharp, strong, wave-like after pains, several hours to a day after the operation. Better to know it may happen than think something's gone horribly wrong! (like me) Didn't get an answer from the midwives at the time - but i'm assuming they were contractions.

Take(or get people to bring)easy to eat one handed food. You don't want to have to rely on the timings of hospital food.

From the moment they say 'you're definitely going home to day' until you leave the building can take many hours (to be signed out by various bods). So don't get too excited.

Wishing you a peaceful and happy birth experience.

I think there are a few previous posts of a similar topic if you wanted to search for them.

I would recommend really big knickers, a nightie rather than p.j's to put on afterwards - you'll have a catheter in for a while so can't really wear trousers. Perhaps a book or something to do while you're waiting, we were told to arrive at 8am but ds wasn't born until 11am. You have to wait for any emergencies or other electives that happen to be before you. Don't wear any nail varnish. Take joggers or something similar to wear home that wont press on your wound. Have some meals in the freezer for the first few days at home.

Hope it goes well.

Water bottle with sports cap so you can drink lying down, because sitting up is the tricky bit.

Giant belly-button warmer pants that will go above your scar - I am still wearing these three weeks later (have several pairs obv! )

All the best!

I took Arnica tablets (from Boots) after my c/section to speed up healing, they definately made a difference to healing time (I'd had a previous section years earlier). Oh, I'd take your own painkillers into hospital, my midwives were so over-worked that I was never given painkillers when they were due .

Oh, just thought of something else, ask someone in the theatre (my anethestist) kindly took a short video and photos of my daughter the moment she was born and be prepared to feel quite shaky after the op, it's normal apparently.

Good luck, hope everything goes lovely and smoothly for you .

you get really painful 'wind' in your abdomen as you shrink back. You can get clots in your lochia (i didnt know this as was freaked out). I turned down the morphine as I felt so well after the op, until the spinal started to wear off and then i was begging for it!! Dont eat anything too soon after the op, as it gets stuck halfway down your windpipe. Make sure you have something to hold onto when getting off the toilet. Remember you no longer have tumm muscles to pull you up!

On a positive note - i found my CS quite a good experience apart from that.

If you're planning on bfing, get yourself a bfing pillow - makes it all sooooo much easier when you can just snuggle your baby in rather than having to hold it up to feed.

My mum advised me to take two live yogurts with me, to eat as soon as they said I could eat after the op. Apparently helps to balance the trapped air in your tum and get things back to normal. I did this and can honestly say I didnt suffer with any trapped wind as i have heard a lot of mums talk about. I just put them in my bag, and when MW said I was allowed to eat I had them. Make sure they are LIVE though.

Also, shave your bikini line before you go in, basically where they will make the incision. If you dont do it before you arrive, they will do it for you, only takes a second and not unpleasant but they do it dry !!! So I was advised to do it in the morning, one less embarrassment to put up with.

All in all a very calm and happy experience, good luck and enjoy your new baby!

Definitely Arnica tabs. Bio oil for the scar afterwards.

Also "under bump" waistbands = "on the scar", so DH had to go out and get me a few pairs of M&S sweat pants with a high, wide waistband.

You also need to know that there will be a lot of people in theatre, all for good reason - about 10 I think. Surgeon and anaethetist (sp?); you and DH; 2 paediatricians; 2 midwives; maybe a student - many. I only knew this because we'd done a CS "role play" in NCT classes. If I hadn't I would have been very worried about the number of people there.

I was not allowed to eat for 24 hours after the anasetic (again sp!).

It is very common to shake in reaction to the anasetic.

It really is not that bad, and I healed pretty quickly.

Try and do some swimming/pilates or something to strengthen your tummy muscles before hand.

It might be usefukl to find out if your hopsital has a policy on how long they keep CS ladies in for. My hospital (Barnsley) 's policy is 4 days. Up the road in Leeds a friend of mine was sent home after 12 hours.

Wow, everyone, thanks so, so much for all the amazingly helpful and thorough advice!
I had a D&C in December and was doubled over with trapped wind afterwards. So yes, live yoghurt sounds good, thanks.
Already have a Breastfeeding pillow (dh ordered it by mistake - was meant to b a maternity pillow!), but we decided to keep it, so I'll take that too, ta.
Joggers - again, great advice!
Has anyone used the disposable pants? The Boots ones get good reviews.
Arnica, yes, a friend recommended this too.
When can the Bio-oil be used from? I have a bottle already, so will defo use this.
Re the people in the room. My consultant said they have paediatric staff on standby, but not in the room itself. I think she said I'd hv a surgeon, anaesthetist, scrub nurse and midwife only, possibly a student too.
Again, thanks everyone. I can always rely on you guys to help :)

Bio-Oil - I was a bit wary of touching my scar for a while, but used it (on cotton wool pad) from abotu 4 weeks. 2 years on, my scar is abrely visible.

I tried disposable pants but they weren't big enough to go above the scar.I bought Granny pants in a massive size and chucked a few out cos of inevitable leaks!

I was up and about the morning after and felt great.I accepted all pain relief and took Arnica tablets.
Peppermint tea bags should help with wind too.

Disposable pants are vile - crinkly papery things that rub. Buy a couple of 5 packs of humungous cheapo knickers from Asda/Primark and bin them if needed.

Wear your maternity trousers afterwards, especially soft over the bump jersey panel ones (under the bump ones will rub).

Don't rub anything into your wound for a few weeks, it needs to heal a bit first. You can use Bio-Oil around your tummy though.

Take extra pillows into hospital, they never have enough and you'll want a spare one to lie the baby on across your lap, and to hold against your tummy when you cough or poo.

Oh, yeah, forgot; I took peppermint oil capsules (from Holland and Barratt) and didn't get trapped wind.

I found the disposable pants sat too close to the wound for comfort...

Agree with lucybrad about the morphine, the MW came to give me my second dose and I was all, 'oh, no, I'm fine thanks'. Half an hour later I was going, 'Errr... you know that morphine we talked about? Think I'd quite like it now please!"

Take all pain killers offered.

Big pants are better than disposable pants.

I itched like mad as morphine wore off. Especially on my face, DH brought me a small water spray in which helped.

Sports bottle is a must (although the moving beds to do help you to sit up!)

Keep a cushion handy to hold over tummy when you need to cough or laugh.

the Lochia loss afterwards is heavy, i was suprised by this lol no on mentioned it.

Deff shave before you go in.

Slip on slippers/shoes for hospital and going home, you wont be able to bend down easily to tie shoes.

DS was a sicky baby which is quite common for section babies so take plenty of sleepsuits and vests.

Make sure DH leaves everything within reach for the first night because chances are you wont be up and about yet.

I took my own pillow from home with me as well :)

Be prepared to call for help when you are at your least dignified.
I went for a shower the day after and suddenly realised I couldn't get my knickers on! I ended up pulling the help cord and 2 nurses ran in looking for presumably a half dead woman. I was in tears just saying "I'm ok I just can pull my pants up!"
I can laugh about it now but at the time I was mortified!

Oh and take stuff for dc in a couple of sizes. Ds was too big for a lot of stuff we brought!

as someone said defintely take your own painkillers. Normal paracetamol or ibuprofen are good. And for the scar contractubex scar cream is excellent. not sure about the nail varnish...why is that missp?

Batty, no nail polish is standard for any operation. They have to put a probe on your finger and nail polish can affect the reading. Also, if there's a problem with yr oxygen levels, yr nails can go blue, and they wouldn't see this if you're wearing nail polish

Oh, another question - when I had my ds, I took a weekend case, but ended up with carrier bags full of stuff by the time I was discharged (and that's not including the baby gifts!) Would it be over the top to take a full-size suitcase...?

And a tip of my own for anyone following this thread, take flip-flops to wear in the shower. I'm a bit OCD about public showers etc so felt great that I wasn't standing on a manky floor and having to use a nice clean towel on them!

bleurgh

Bleurgh?!

I managed to find two clear plastic bags, one small, one a bit larger - nice ones, that had cord handles and piping around the edge - ( that I think DS3's nursery bedding had been packaged in!) to use as a theatre bag and a recovery bag.
Theatre bag has birth plan & notes, baby's first clothes, nappy, blanket, knickers & pad. Recovery bag has everything for the first couple of hours and any waiting you need to do beforehand, spare nappy/pad, bra/breastpads, money, phone, books/ds, face wipes, snacks/drinks etc.
Everything else can go in a larger bag, left in the car, that DH can bring in after you're transferred to the ward. Saves a lot of lugging around of unnecessary stuff and trying to find things in a hurry.
I'd second most of what everyone's said above, plus, stick a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil in the bath (once you can take one) for the scar healing. Eye mask for you helps for daytime naps and even nighttime, when some mums will be awake and feeding/changing.
And you will have to work out the best way for you to get up out of and in to bed for a while - it won't be easy, but just take it slowly!
Oh, and make sure your birth partner leaves everything within a reasonable reaching distance before they leave!