Staying in hospital one night after Elective C Section

[AutumnLeavesandCandleLights]

I had my pre op assessment this morning and will be having my elective c section on Wednesday.

12 months ago, I had an emergency c section and we stayed in for four nights. When we were finally allowed home, I was still very much in pain and found it incredibly difficult getting in and out of bed, on and off the toilet etc.

I asked the nurse today what the standard length of stay is following an elective and was told they aim to get women home the following day...
whilst this is good in some respects as I don't want my 12 month old being apart from us for too long/want things to return to 'normal' as quickly as possible, I'm a little concerned that the following day is a bit too soon to be discharged after a major operation?

I understand that if I can use the toilet on my own, eat, drink and slowly shuffle about, there's not much reason in me taking up a bed on the ward - but honestly, without the morphine last time I was in total agony. I don't see how 'strong' painkillers are going to cut it after 24hrs of being sliced open.

Has anyone been discharged the next day after an elective and felt totally okay/comfortable/as pain-free as possible at home? I'll admit I wasn't comfy on the ward last time and by the second night I was starting to grow quite miserable that I wasn't surrounded by all my home comforts, however, I was quite relieved knowing I had a full team of medical professionals around me in the first few days.

Just a little bit worried that I'm going to be in as much pain as I was last time and then expected to kind of just deal with it.

I found my recovery after an ELCS much faster however I still stayed in 4 nights. I am abroad though. I had the c section at 9am and was up out of bed by about 5pm. The next day I had a shower on my own.

Good luck, just make sure you have lots of support for once you get home as you will definitely still be sore. And I was on the morphine for 3 days too but was then fine on strong painkillers.

Wow you got morphine last time? Is that the norm in some trusts? I had emcs in 2015 and got nothing more than paracetamol (not even regularly).
I was out after 2 nights, but I was actually ready to be discharged after one night, but there were delays getting my dd discharged, so we ended up staying.

I have my pre op assessment on Weds for my c section next Monday. I've been told while the aim is to get me out of hospital asap, I can request to stay in longer if I want.

Also, while I haven't had one before, I understand recovery from an ELCS is much easier (generally speaking) than an EMCS.

I think you were in an unusual amount of pain last time. I found my second c section much easier as I knew the amount of pain to expect ifyswim. Had op about 2pm, got up to shuffle around the next morning and managed a shower that afternoon. I was kept in for 3 nights as that’s the norm over here (not in uk)

I was out the next day but dd2 wasn't feeding properly and because she was my second the midwives basically ignored me. We were back in hospital Day 5 with a dehydrating baby and stayed a further two nights. Personally I was fine to be discharged although I was not moving off the sofa much!

I was out the next day after my EMCS and it was fine. Much nicer to have the comforts of home and I'd like a short stay if I were to decide on an ELCS next time. I'm surprised you got morphine last time, it sounds like you had a difficult time afterwards. I only got paracetamol and diacodine I think it was home with me. Would recommend going careful with those as they cause really bad constipation which is painful with the c section

I stayed in 5 days after my emcs (mainly because of the baby) and only 1 after my elective. 2 was standard but I wanted to go.

I had morphine a few hours after surgery but wad fine to be discharged with codeine plus regular ibruprofen and paracetamol. They were very happy to give me drugs as long as I was moving around etc. When I got home I could walk slowly, get in and out of bed but I couldn’t walk up stairs for the first couple of days so I slept downstairs.

I only stayed in one night when I had an ELCS. Ds was born at 11am, I got out of bed at 9am the following morning, managed to shuffle to the bathroom after they removed my catheter. I managed to pass urine, so once I could sort of move and wee unaided, that was it, I was out of there! I went home at 8pm that day although I know that the nurses would have liked me to stay in I was insistent as I can't sleep a wink in hospital so was pretty delirious with exhaustion. Got a taxi home, straight to bed, got up again at teatime the following day. It can be done!

I went home after one night and was fine. With my first they gave codeine to take home, with my second it was paracetamol and ibuprofen. I felt slightly sore and bruised but was otherwise fine and able to do most things. Good luck!

After my third (and easiest ) CS I was discharged the following morning (less than 24 hours after surgery). Baby had to stay another 24 hours and they let me stay, but I was itching to get home and I was more than ready. Same after my second really, though Baby was in a week and I stayed 4 nights, but spent most of that time in nicu.

Elcs v different from emcs, far less stressful, surgeons have the luxury of time to be careful, no hideous labour / exhaustion before hand. I needed the morphine after my first. Didn’t even want it with the other two. Was given cocodamol for the pain, it’s still in the cupboard 5 years later!

They will not send you home if you aren't well enough please don't worry. I've had four c/s. First emcs rest elcs and each time I felt it was my decision to go home. Good luck xx

I was out in less than 24 hours after my ELCS and to be honest, I would have been home even quicker had they got around to seeing me earlier that morning. My emergency section was horrific, recovery was tough and I had a massive PPH so they kept me in a while. In contrast the planned section was a breeze and I recovered quickly and easily — back to looking after my 2.5 year old almost like normal within a couple of days (minus picking up). Hopefully you’ll find an elective section a different and more positive experience to your previous surgery.

I had an EMCS in 2007 and was discharged after 24hrs hours. I was discharged with a couple of days worth of co codamol. I had a semi-elective CS in 2014 and was discharged after 24hrs with oramorph and Clexane to inject.

I wasn't really in the best state for the 2007 discharge but I had a heavy guilt trip laid on me by staff about how much they needed my bed.

I really was fine with the 2014 24 hour discharge, though I had laboured a little (my ELCS was due the next day) I was nowhere near as shell-shocked. It probably also helped that ward was really quiet - I was the only birth they'd had that day and there were very few women already there, so I was able to have a shower as soon as it was safe after the spinal to have one, snack and a cup of coffee etc. It was actually my best post-natal experience (4 DC in total).

I was discharged after 24 hours after my 3rd CS. I couldn't wait to get home to be honest, much prefer my home comforts to hospital. I was lucky to recover very quickly though, I know some people who have struggled walking etc. I was given the options of staying in longer if I wanted to, I'm sure they wouldn't discharge you if you didn't feel able to go home OP.

They only gave me paracetamol and diclofenac and they did the job. TBH I recovered much quicker in my last 2 CS than I did my first when I was given morphine (as was the norm then) and made to stay in hospital for 2 days. But I think if you're in a lot of pain they can give you something extra anyway. Good luck OP

I went home after an emergency section the next day (and so stayed 1 night). I was desperate to get out.

In hindsight i should have stayed 2 nights as was still in a terrible state - but then I had been in hospital 5 nights already and on labour ward for 2 so it's a bit different.

I was told that normal procedure after an elective section was to go home next day

I had an ELCS and have to say it was a breeze in comparison to some of my friends’ horror stories about their EMCS. Had DD at lunchtime on Tuesday and discharged at lunchtime on Thursday. We were supposed to go home on the Wednesday but she wasn’t feeding so they kept us in. I was discharged with only paracetamol for pain, although had stronger stuff in hospital.

I came out 36 hrs after my ELCS , I never required any analgesia other than what was administered in theatre and was up and about fairly normally as soon as I was allowed .

I went home after 1 night. most important thing is to prepare. You should be planning for bed rest for a couple of days and ensure you have support for that. If you are going home to look after a home and another DC with little physical support, stay in longer.

I had DH and parents at home and literally moved from bed to sofa and breastfed baby and that was it. meals, DS, changing etc was all done for me.

recovery can be brilliant from ECS but if you don't look after yourself it will come back to bite you.

plus, don't leave until you are ready. some mums me are desperate to get home and that overrides everything else but listen to your body and change your plan according to how you feel.

I think oramorph is just standard at my hospital. I didn't request it to begin with, I was pretty much told to take it for the first 24hrs following the op, I then asked for it for a further 12hrs in which they happily obliged. After that, I was on a concoction of pills - can't fully remember what they were but I can only assume they was a mixture of varying different pain killers.

I definitely was in a lot of pain. Granted that was my first emergency c section so had/have nothing to compare it to, but to this day, I'm putting a lot of the pain down to the fact I had metal staples in my wound. Every time I moved, laughed, walked, sneezed or got up, the staples tugged and snagged on the dressing. My dressing was on for 6 days before being removed, and when the staples were taken out, the healthcare visitor said that I'd closed up nicely on the inside, but the outer layer of my skin still had quite a few deep gaps in it which was likely the cause of the majority of my pain.

I'm hoping to request a different method of 'putting me back together' this time around.

I'd very much like to be home after one evening and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I do genuinely feel well enough in myself to leave so soon.

It's good to know that there are quite a few of you out there who can vouch for an early discharge not being as daunting as I'm imagining!

I had an elective in 2014 and was out after two nights. Up within 24 hours. Paracetamol and tramadol for pain

I had a EMCS in 2014 and was out after two nights - probably because the section happened at 6.30pm, if it had been earlier I’d prob have been sent home the next day.

I was given paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain.

Another 24 hour discharge here - I just had ibuprofen and paracetamol at home, and it was OK, though now completely pain free. A medical friend advised me to take them on a schedule, not to wait until I was in pain. That definitely helped. Even when in hospital, there hadn't been any morphine.

I had dissolving stitches, so didn't have to have them removed. My recovery was pretty good (and I'd been in hospital though healthy for 10 days before DD was born in case I went into labour, so I was pleased to be home).

The downside was that DD couldn't latch, but I didn't realise (first child) so by day 3 she'd lost 14% of her birth weight. We managed to stay at home, for which I am grateful, but I know that in a lot of places we'd have been brought back in. I suspect they didn't have the bed. Syringe feeding her turned things round.

First time I was in 5 days as my twins were as one of them had step b but my second I was out the next day on my request. To be far second home was much better staff but first time the night shift worker constantly berated me for asking for pain killers and would tell me to walk though the pain. So I was glad to get out and not be condemned for taking pain killers.

Diclofenac was great for me. I was in for quite a few days with both ds's, so I know I never would have been ready after only 24 hours.

My hospital has a policy of 24-hr discharge for ELCS (as long as you have produced your post-catheter wee etc) and they will discharge you with Oramorph, which many other hospitals around here won't. Worth asking your hospital's policy.