Elective C Section - tomorrow!

[Manctart]

Does anyone have any last minute tips? I am so excited and nervous!

I was given a tip which I found useful :if there is a metal mirror light thing above, don’t look up at it as you will be able to see what’s going on !

Also when it was elective (and not emergency) I found it a lot more “uncomfortable” and I was starting to get anxious so I asked to be put asleep.

Good luck! You’ll be great

Oh that’s useful to know, thank you. I don’t want to see what’s going on personally!

That’s interesting, I’m hoping I will be ok as I have had to have a lot of other medical procedures before for other stuff but it’s useful to know other people’s experiences!

Try and rest as much as possible tonight and tomorrow before your time. You will need a distraction! Take some food for when you are feeling up to it after as it may not be avaliable when you want it and for your birth partner. Keep talking to your team during the procedure even if it seems like a strange thing, mention it and they will reassure and look after you.

It's really quick and then they hand you your baby. It feels weird but it's really not bad congratulations on your baby !

Good luck! I've had two elective sections and have great experiences of both.
I don't know about bringing food, both times I wasn't allowed eat until a certain amount of hours after and the day after my last one I was still on a restricted diet.
A good tip is when they take off the dressing, use those big maternity pads for a couple of days, they were a god send.
Try get your hands on some arnica tablets tonight and start taking them asap after section. They speed up healing inside and out, I used them for both and I recovered very quickly.
I wish I had thought of this but get one of those long grabbers to pick things up off the floor. I dropped the remote on the first night in the hospital and took me ages to figure out a way to pick it up!

Have a shower as soon as you can , both times it was the next morning for me . Move around as much as possible but don't over do it.

Good luck and come back and tell us how it went!!

Take peppermints or peppermint tea bags- really helps if you have trapped wind or constipation afterwards. Not a glamorous tip but the midwives kept asking if I’d passed wind yet

I had one on Monday and it was actually so peaceful!

Take a long dressing gown cord to tie to end of bed to aid hauling yourself up.

If constipated do ask for fibrogel or laxido as it's really gentle. I haven't had the terrible wind issues this time (previous emcs) but the peppermint tablets helped with that then.

They took my birth plan requests very seriously so don't be afraid to ask for anything specific.

Do get up when you can - recovery is so much better for standing tall early.

Thank you so much ladies this is all great advice! I’m more thinking of recovery afterwards so those tips will definitely help me ☺️ And I will hopefully be able to provide an update tomorrow after he has arrived!

All good advice above, I second Fybrogel precautions and get moving (slowly and carefully) as soon as.

Do not lift anything heavier than the baby!
And congratulations.

I was quite shaky during my section, the Adrenalin or something. Also tell the anaesthetist if you’re feeling sick as they can give you anti-sickness quickly through your drip. Good luck. And don’t worry if they tilt the table, it’s just to get the best angle with the smallest scar. You won’t fall! It’s very noisy too when they effectively hoover you out. I remember the big whoosh! And get someone to take photos! My biggest regret. 🙁 If your partner’s there, they’ll be in surgical scrubs too. Good luck!

Just for reassurance my friend said it was a really good experience, very smooth she knew what was going on but not painful. Best not to try to look and instead focus elsewhere but she definitely didnt regret it. Also agree with previous posts try not to do stairs too fast / lift anything too heavy whilst you heal.

Im opting for elective as well due to medical concerns, having the chat with my consultant on Monday, did you find it difficult to get the C section may I ask? Ive heard some people / places can be very stubborn about avoiding it

Baby2018 good to know. I have actually only heard positive experiences so hoping mine will be the same! In terms of getting the ELCS I had no issues at all but it might depend on your exact reasoning. I have significant bowel scarring from Crohn’s Disease which would likely cause tearing or rupturing during labour so it was deemed much safer for the ELCS. I would imagine if you explain your concerns then it shouldn’t be a problem, I’m in Manchester but don’t know what other areas are like.

Doodle thank you that’s really useful - I do get a bit nervous when I am having procedures done so will deffo bear that in mind!

Thanks again ladies and I will hopefully be able to tell you it went well by this time tonorrow!

Hello ladies, just a little update - baby Isaac was born at 9.49am at 6 lb 12 and we are totally besotted . Thanks again for all of your tips they have already been so helpful!

Oh op congratulations!!!! Lovely name and weight. Enjoy!!

Congratulations! Glad all went well. Enjoy the newborn snuggles!

Congrats!!

Congratulations, enjoy the baby cuddles!

@Manctart congratulations!! My baby girl Eska and your Issac are only 12 hours apart! I had a c-section too... Wishing you all the best with the recovery it's hard work but they're totally worth it aren't they

@Manctart and I'm also in Manchester!