After a C-section: your experience

[thewebbleyjess]

Hi. Looking for some advice & other people's experience of recovery post c-section....

How was it for you?
How soon were you able to drive?
How was breast feeding / picking up new baby?
How was managing with older children?
Any tips / hints / general advice very welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Awful.

I drove after two weeks (to a breast feeding support group - because everything was about to shut for Christmas). I don't recommend it. Even if you think you feel fine, it's major surgery. My scar opened up at one end afterwards.

Try and get out for a gentle walk once you feel able, and build up gradually. It takes a while to get your strength back.

Breastfeeding? Hmm, my milk didn't really come in, I was in so much discomfort from my c-section it was impossible to get into a comfortable position to feed in. That said, my baby also had a tongue tie that wasn't spotted immediately, and I'd had gd, which can affect milk supply.

I do know lots of women who have breastfed after a c-section with no problem.

Get a nice comfy feeding pillow.

Also, listen to the doctors. If you're like me, you'll feel like you should be doing more after a couple of weeks, but healing takes time. I would say that it was about six months before I felt fully recovered from pregnancy & birth.

I know all of the above sounds a bit negative, but that's just my own experience. Also, my daughter was totally worth it!

Mine was a positive experience. I had an EMCS just before midnight on the Saturday and was home for lunch on Monday. Stayed home all of Tuesday and went to the supermarket with my DH and DD for a brief trip on Wednesday.

I would have felt quite safe to drive after four weeks but left it until five weeks because my car had a flat battery after not being driven for a while. I have an automatic (not sure if that makes it easier to drive) but had no problems at all from then.

I didn't breastfeed so can't advise on that. No problems picking my DD up (she was 7lbs at birth) but I couldn't get up from a sitting position with her already in my arms for about two to three weeks.

No other children which undoubtably made everything much easier for me and my DH was home for the two weeks following the birth, so he did lots.

It was painful afterwards and sitting up or getting out of bed/up from a chair gave me a brief burning pain that felt as though I had ripped open the cut. The pain didn't last long and I was absolutely fine pottering around the house and going out for short trips places. Walking very far or quickly was sore, so I just took my time.

To make things a little easier I had a changing box and mat upstairs and downstairs so I didn't have to go far at anytime. And I had a bell to summon my DH when I wanted something. I found getting him to put out his arm so that I could pull myself up at my own pace was better than him pulling me up, as it was often quicker than my cut was comfortable with.

I would recommend online supermarket shopping, laxatives and having a supply of stronger painkillers at home in case you need them (I was discharged with just paracetamol). Also make sure you have a good supply of cushions or pillows as I spent the first few nights sleeping propped up on my back.

Hope it goes well for you and I know everyone is different with a different recovery but now, three months after my section, I would feel quite happy to go horse riding or skiing and apart from occasional itching, feel totally recovered and fine.

I've had two sections. First week bit of a write off, then started feeling better. Still got tired very easily though.

Walked into town with double buggy for a toddler group at 4w with dd2 - so walked 3 miles with an hour chasing dd1 round in the middle.

No problem feeding each time, although dd2 didn't eat enough initially, perhaps because she was an elcs at 39w so wasn't quite cooked

Second time round DH had 2w pat leave and the next 10 days I couldn't lift dd1 - so that was an interesting time! But very short in the grand scheme of things. She's a lot more independent now and will clamber up on settee etc.

I had an EMCS after a failed induction. I breastfed immediately and had no problems there. I didn't have other DCs so can't help with that. Changing positions - from sitting to standing particularly - was difficult for the first week or two. My DH would hoist me out of bed or if I was sitting in a chair. I only had paracetomol and ibproufen which was absolutely fine for me. My recovery was pretty quick but my mum stayed with us for the first 3 weeks and took care of the cleaning and cooking, which made things so much easier.

I'm currently pregnant with twins and expect to have an ELCS.

I've had two, one emergency and one elective.

The actual operations were fine and I felt better than I was expecting to afterwards (felt fine actually after the elective compared to the emergency as I hadn't just had three days of labour and a PPH!).

I felt I could drive after 4 weeks-ish both times but didn't drive until 6 weeks. No issues. The worst bit of the whole process was being driven home from hospital over all the bastard speed bumps in the car park, the seatbelt was extremely painful on my scar.

My milk didn't come in until day 5 after my emergency section so I supplemented DD with formula for the first few days. I then BF her without issue. After my elective section my milk came in the day afterwards and DS has never had any formula.

Picking up baby was fine for me. The bit I found painful was night feeds - getting from a lying to sitting position was sore even though they had shown me how to do it safely in hospital.

Managing older child - fine really, mine was 3 and understood mummy's tummy was sore and she needed to be careful.

My tips are:

1. take a cushion to put between your scar and the seatbelt in the car when you leave hospital
2. use a sling/wrap if you're happy to. Pushing a pram uses the muscles you need to be resting. I wore DS in a Moby wrap which sat high above my scar. It also meant that when I couldn't drive we could get straight on the bus rather than wait for one without a pram already on it!

I had an elcs after a traumatic first vaginal birth. I found the c section so much better in terms of recovery - at least I could sit down for one thing. I didn't drive until about 6 weeks afterwards because I have been told that's the standard recovery period for the scars etc inside and I didn't feel safe to do an emergency stop before then. I was up and about looking after ds and my older child after a few days and was doing school runs up and down a hill pushing a pram (albeit slowly!) after 2 weeks when dh returned to work.

My elcs wasn't standard either - I had undiagnosed placenta previa and lost 2.5 litres of blood.

Maybe I was just lucky but I did find recovery very easy.

I've only given birth once via ELCS. The actual experience was great. No significant problems in recovery. Keep up your painkillers. The only difficult movements were getting up from a low seat, or stepping over something like the side of the bath. Don't drive or have other children, so no info there. My milk never came in at all, despite trying absolutely everything for two months - no one ever figured out why, so don't know if there was any correlation to the CS. That was desperately upsetting.

I've had two emcs. After the first I was discharged 12hrs later. No pain relief, no pain and back to normal quite quickly. With dc2 obviously I was busier. In fact 4yo dc1 started school 4 days after my second emcs. It was a walk, a bus and another walk at the other end. Again, no painkillers necessary and I was physically well. Back running by 8 weeks.

Milk came in on days 3 and 2 respectively with no problems.

There's a range of normal and it's important to go at your own pace.

I had one emcs at 38 weeks, and one elcs at 38 weeks.

Ebf both times. No issues. Lifting was hard but I managed in hospital by pulling the cot close and using the bed/bed rails to pull myself to sitting with my arms. Once home I got dh to pass the baby.

Older children were fine, in fact useful for fetching things for me :).

Absolutely fine.

Rest, take your meds, DO NOT be a hero and try to do to much, and you'll soon be recovered.
I bf mine for nearly a year each, just rest them on a pillow in front of you.

If you rest, it gets better each day.

How was it for you?Planned cs easier than EMCS. At least 2 weeks of pj's then only very brief outings for the next month.

How soon were you able to drive? Didn't drive until 6 weeks both times. It's not worth the risk. The internal wound takes far longer to heal than what you see and feel on the outside.

How was breast feeding / picking up new baby? Very hard after my EMCS, bf was a disaster and I was in pain for at least 3 weeks. Very easy after my planned cs, textbook easy, chubby bf baby and no problems at all.

How was managing with older children? DS was 2 so as long as he could zip around the garden, munch rice cakes and watch cbeebies it really wasn't too bad. My family popped round to take him to nursery or the shops.

IME the more you rest and ask for help the better the recovery is. No housework except essential laundry and don't overdo it. A few weeks of boredom is a small price to pay for a good recovery.

I was back at the gym at 12 weeks both times. There is light at the end of by the tunnel!

I was booked for an elcs on a Monday.

When I went in on the Friday for a pre op assessment the doctor said I want to do this now. He sent dh home for my things and dd was born before he got back to the hospital.

I lost a lot of blood in theatre and spent 8 hours lying flat on oxygen, drips in both arms. But I was feeding dd by the evening.

They took the catheter out the next morning and I was up and about after that but nil by mouth for 3 days and very weak. I still fed dd buy she had jaundice and was malnourished and hypoglycemic. My milk supply never got any better and was topping up every feed so I gave up after two weeks.
I actually found my back more painful from the spinal than the wound. It's much lower down than I thought it would be and it's never been a problem. But only needed paracetamol for a few days after I got home. I was given diclofenac injections in hospital and they helped. I could lift dd from day 2 but it was painful at first.

I was in hospital 5 days. If it wasn't for dd I might have got out earlier but she needed phototherapy.

I had lots of help at home and my recovery was quicker at home. We did a big bbq 3 days after and had family outings a few days after that. Didn't have older children though but do now so I'm watching the answers you get for that bit.

DC1 was EMCS
I was home after two nights in hospital
Got up out of my hospital bed myself the day after the section , I was desperate for a shower.
Showered and washed hair no problem.
It was quite hard to lift baby out of the crib in the hospital whilst I was sitting in the bed , but that was more to do with the twisting round / angle , it was fine if I was standing up .

When I got home I just took it easy first few days, took some paracetamol and iboprofen every few hours and this was fine for any pains.

Staples out day 5 at home by the midwife and my scar was fine.

I was out at shopping mall in first week and drove within 3 weeks , I had an overall positive experience with my CS.

I'm glad I had VBAC with DC2 though as I think if I had to lift toddler with CS scar it may have been a different story.

Have just had my 4th section, first was an emcs last three were elcs. My worst recovery was after no2, I did too much too soon and ended up with a nasty infection. All the others I have been a bit ropey for about a week and then have started to feel so much better, but you still need to take it easy and just potter. The first week I do nothing apart from sit and cuddle/feed baby, dh does everything else including fetching me things so I don't have to move.
I have managed to breast feed two of my dc and yes it was hard as they were heavy and resting on my tummy so it was a little painful.
Older children, well the only problem one is 17 months old as I can't pick him up but he's happy snuggling next to me watching cbeebies while I feed, bribery with biscuits helps a lot too :).
I will be back driving by 3.5 weeks as dh is back at work and the school run needs doing!

I had an emergency C-section and found the recovery much better/easier than I expected. You have to give yourself time though. I didn't attempt to drive until after 6 weeks, and didn't really do much other than look after the babies in those first few weeks. I remember going shopping when they were about 4 weeks old and feeling OK at the time, but then I bled quite a bit afterwards, so you have to take it easy.

Breastfeeding was fine, but I had a lot of help with making food, washing, etc, so all I had to do was feed the babies. Get someone else to do all the nappies, changing, bathing, etc, in the first few weeks.

So, in general, my advice is to take it easy and don't push yourself. One tip that someone gave me that I've never heard anywhere else was to take some Fisherman's Friends into hospital with you. You might get trapped wind in your shoulders after the C-section, and for some bizarre reason Fisherman's Friends help to relieve it!

I had a very positive experience. I recovered quickly. Quicker than my natural birth. Ds breast fed easier than my ds I had naturally. In fact ds fed immediately after being born. I was driving within 3 weeks. It really was fine. I was probably very lucky! (I did have mastitis twice in that period of time so not wholey lucky!!)

I don't recall any problem with holding/lifting the baby after c section. Dh was off work for 3 weeks so helped with ds1.

The only thing I would say as the birth was not as exhilarating and the overwhelming feeling of pure joy/relief wasn't there. I guess because it was a clinical operation.

All in all a positive experience and I'm due dc3 in feb and not worried about the c section or recovery.

Good luck

My eldest was a planned c section for breech at 38w 5d. I'd had an ECV but he wouldn't budge! This was 8.5 years ago now but if I remember correctly....

I went into Hospital at 7am and had a thing put in the back of my hand. I was the last to be taken to theatre around half 11. If there are emergency c sections, they will take precedent over you. My husband came with me. There were a fair few people in the room and it was the anaesthetist who was the main person to chat with me. I'd been dreading the needle in the spine but it was fine. The weirdest thing was when my blood pressure dropped very rapidly and I went a bit doolally but as all your levels are constantly being monitored this was quickly corrected.

When he was born just after midday I couldn't hold him as I still felt light-headed and my husband was asked to go and stand in the corridor with him which worried him, but they were only stitching me up.

In the recovery area I breastfed for the first time around 1pm. I used the rugby position whichever was great (especially good for big boobs too) and he latched on and fed for an hour both sides. I still have the feeding record from then! It was easy to establish breastfeeding after a little struggle with latching and I breastfed him for a year.

I was finally allowed to the ward around 5pm and my mum (and other visitors) were allowed in then. Pretty sure all feeling was back by then. It is hard on the ward after your visitors have gone home as you can't move very well. You have a catheter in which solves the toilet problem but picking up your baby when he needs feeding is a different matter! I remember struggling to pick my baby up to feed him and realising I just couldn't put him back so he fell asleep snuggled on me. I was told off for this but I had tried to call for help and nobody came! When they did they were grumpy. I was desperate to go home even though I couldn't walk very well. I practically crawled out the hospital after 48 hours. My husband still remembers me struggling to get in the car. It was too early in terms of my recovery but I needed my husband's constant help with lifting the baby. As soon as I was home I got into bed, we ordered a take away and my milk came in! It was bliss to be home and have my husband to help. I recovered quickly and became mobile fairly quickly. No infection and the wound faded rapidly. You can barely see the scar now. I am amazed by that!

I didn't drive for about 4-6 weeks but that's more coz I didn't need to. There's some slight pulling down there for a while but it's bareable.

No older chn then so can't comment but imaging a lot tougher looking after others too! I was determined to have VBACs with my next two for that reason - and I did!

So a positive experience for me - good luck to you

Thank you everyone - really appreciate you sharing experiences and bits of advice.

I had my DD by ELCS 7 years ago. Went into hospital about 7am, in operating theatre for 8:30, baby born at 9:15 and up to recovery ward for 10 am. My DD fed well immediately. I was taken to the maternity ward about 12pm and had the catheter removed shortly after. Was up and walking about easily and picking nearly 10 lb DD up from her cot without too much pain.

I refused the suppository during the section and felt fine on just paracetamol for a say or two. I don't drive or have other children so no help there. I had DD on a Friday and was home on Saturday morning.

I would second the PP who said about pressing a towel against your scar if going over speed bumps and also for going to the toilet.

1 previous cs and elcs booked for the end of this month. I was surprised at just how painful it was in the first few days, wish I had got up and walking sooner because I think that would have helped the recovery. Lots of strong painkillers which I am sure must be passed to baby in breast milk although the midwife said it wouldn't have any effect (he was very sleepy feeder and ended up needing a boost of formula and a nose tube to clear jaundice and raise blood sugars). Once home, I remember there being a lot of breathlessness, and generally feeling quite weak for several weeks, and weird numb tingly feeling around the scar (still have that now at times!). I am hoping that my 2nd Cs will be easier as i know what to expect and for m first hadn't really thought about it as a possibility.

3 CS here. 1 EMCS followed by 2 ELCS. Recovery after the EMCS was the most painful as it was after a long failed labour.

DC2 was the best experience, very calm. DC3 was uncomfortable - major chest infection and abdominal surgery do not go together comfortably!

Back to work FT fairly quickly after all 3: 6 weeks, 3 months and 4 weeks respectively.

Never got BF sorted.

No problems at all for me. EMCS sunday afternoon out of the hospital 5 days later walked straight out to the shop to grab some baby milk (on antibiotics unrelated to EMCS) Enrolled into uni 12 days later.

Only problems I had was getting up when laying down for the first week after the EMCS and the sensation of touch returning around the scar. It was numb until the nerves repaired themselves and for a few weeks it tingled much like pins and needles before returning to a somewhat normal state. Some parts around the scar are still numb.

I didn't breastfeed as such. antibiotics plus a trip to nuclear medicine for a lung scan 2 days post EMCS meant DS got used to the bottle so I expressed instead having given up trying to breastfeed after a few weeks to no avail.

Only things I would recommend is having a decent chair to sit on for a while. Low down sofas can be a pain to get out of at the best of times. It feels like being a weeble wobble post c-section!

Oh and pants. Big pants.