c section and taking your knickers off!!

[xenabelly]

I'm booked in for an elective c section in 2 wks (eek!). I had an emergency section with 1st born but was totally out of it on gas and air etc so is all a bit of a blur.

Got some questions for anyone who is in the know, they are v trivial but I can't stop thinking about them...

1. When do you take your knickers off? Do you walk down to theatre naked under your gown or keep your bra on?

1. When you've had op and you're in bed with catheter in, do you have your knickers on and if not is there not blood all over the bed everytime you move?

1. How long does bleeding last afterwards, I only had quite light blood loss for a week or so last time but not sure if I was just lucky.

Thanks

Can only guess at the first two, but as regards the blood, it depends on the woman. The books all say it should tail off after a week to 10 days, but I bled for 6 weeks (the first two days v heavy, the rest like a period) and this was normal apparently.

I have had 3 sections, 1st -elective, 2nd -emergency and 3rd - elective.

With the first I took my knickers off before I went to the theatre but that was a bit enbarassing as the consultant decided to examine my bump before hand

With the emrgancy section, i hadn't got them on as was in labour.

With the last one I kept them on until we got right in to the theatre (well little room alongside) and then gave them to someone who put them in a bag with my dressing gown.

Afterwards, whilst you have the catheter in, no you won't have knickers on, but in my experiance this didn't mean that there was blood everywhere.
You are normally sat on an inco pad and so a HCA will normally come and clean you up down there if you like, and change the pad etc.

HTH

Oh and I think my bleeding afterwards lasted roughly a month or so but was not heavy.

1. i walked down to theatre with just gowns on..one with the opening at the back and one with the opening at the front, to maintain as much modesty as possible!
2. I laid on huge incontinence pads with a sanitary towel just placed between my legs...knickers would just get in the way i think, although i do recall being asked if i wanted to wear any.
3. as for bleeding, i bled heavily for 3 weeks and then light blood loss for anoth 3 weeks

Good luck xenabelly x

1. You can take your knickers (and bra) off when you put your gown on. Most women then use a light dressing-gown for the walk to theatre (and slippers!)

1. You'll be given plenty of sanitary pads (and bring plenty of your own, too), so don't worry about the blood. You probably won't be moving around too much straight after the op anyway, and once you're a bit more mobile, your (big, comfy) knickers can go back on, with pads!

1. Depends - everyone is different. The quoted 'average' is about 6 weeks but it really does vary. If you had a light loss last time then you may well be the same this time around.

Good luck!

God, my dd is 15 months old and I've forgotten! I do remember forgetting to take my knickers off and having to stick them in DHs pocket outside the theatre!!
I dont remember putting pants on til after a shower next day, the midwives stuck some pads down there but I dont remember any blood on the bed. But I didn't move much tbh that first night!
I had very light bleeding afterwards

Hello

1. i took my knickers off when i put the gown on but it was only a short walk to theatre and i dont think you can keep your bra on, at least i wasn't aloud.

1. You dont have your knickers back on until you take a shower the next day. I had loads and loads of sanitary pads put between my legs. But because you have no feeling i did bleed all over the bed. The hca came and washed me up but the bed sheets couldn't be changed until the next day which wasn't nice.

1. I did bleed heavy to start with but after a few days this went very light and stopped after a few weeks.

Good luck with your section, you will be fine

Well I suppose it depends how quickyou are up and about, by the sounds of it you all stayed still for 24hrs. 4 hrs after getting back to the ward I decided I was going to get rid of the fing catheter so I got up. They made me prove I could walk - so I did, went to the loo and had a shower about 8 or 9 pm, dd was born around 4. So I was pretty much straight back on with the knickers, but not during the op

with my elective my knickers were off pre-op and i dont remember walking to teh theatre - think i was wheeled (but I was private )

no knickers on afterwards and they placed a sanitary towel between my legs but also a encopad on the bed to absorb any accidents.

i bled for 5 weeks with each of my c/s heavy for the first week and then just medium-light.

Glad you asked this xenabelly - I'm due for a CS within the next 2 weeks aswell and wouldn't have even thought about the knicker situation!

each time I was wheeled into the ante room and theatre. WIth dd1 it was all rather quick - clotes off, theatre gown on and catheter in and then off to theatre.

With dd2 - lots of waiting around. Kept on until they said they were coming down to take me up to theatre and then took them off. Mind you they got me ready at 10 for 10.30 section and as I was elective - did not get into theatre until mid afternoon. No bra from when I put the theatre gown on.

First time - inconto pad and did not get up for the first day - once up and had shower and dressed as such - then knickers on. Had pads on but no knickers until catheter was taken out.

Light bleeding both times unless I overdid it in the first six weeks.

Only has emergency sections (2) so didn't have knickers on.

Afterwards I had the netted stretchy knickers with a pad (or two) even with the catheter (sp?).

I did ask for a some of the stretchy knickers to take home (a really nice MW gave me ten pairs) as they sat well over my scar and didn't roll down and rub on it. Also they can hold really huge towels in place very well.

FB x

They made me keep the catheter for 24 hours and I couldn't figure out how to get knickers on over it - not that I could have bent over enough to put them on anyway. The midwives would not have helped - it took them 2 days to remember that I should be wearing surgical stockings!
But having the catheter in did not prevent me from walking about. DD was born about noon and I was transferred to the ward at about 6:30pm where I decided to take a shower (to wash off the antiseptic pink stuff which was v itchy!). I seem to recall it involved a lot of hobbling about very slowly with a pad clutched between my thighs. And then the shower they took me to was over a bath.
Trying to climb into a bath after abdominal surgery without dripping blood (impossible, btw) and whilst holding a bag of wee would be funny if it wasn't so revolting....

i had emergency cs 8 months ago so had no knickers on when i went down to theatre as i was in labour. I had my nightie on though and midwife told me to take off my bra.
After op, when i was in recovery midwife helped me have a wash down and put my knickers on me with a couple of pads.
I think i bled for about 3-4 weeks, but was just like a period after the first week or so.
hth