Things you wish you knew about csection....

[1Pinkfluffyelephant]

Second baby but first csection. What advice would you give? What different things might I need to pack that I wouldn’t have needed last time? Also do you have any info on things like... Do you get given a day to attend hospital and a rough time your expected to go down (depending on emergencies etc) or just turn up and wait?
How do you put knickers and pad on if you have a catheter in? Or if you can’t and just have to sit on a pad in bed, how do you show them you can get up and walk to the bathroom so they can remove the catheter if you haven’t got a pad etc on? I just want to be prepared and know what to expect.

My second section was an elective.
My hospital expected us to be there first thing, and I believe we were first on the surgery list but there was an emergency section to be handled first. So be prepared for a wait! I was still in surgery by about 11am I think.

When the catheter is in I think I recall there being a pad on the bed, and also the MWs placed one between my legs. They checked them regularly.

Overnight I buzzed the MWs to help when I needed to reach the baby. One of them changed the nappy for me which I was grateful for. They then tucked him in the bed with me so we could doze/feed.

Catheter removed the next morning, quite early, I needed to remind the HCP that it had been taken out though and that I needed to go to the toilet. I think they give you a thing to pee in to check output levels . My memory is a bit hazy.

Don’t be afraid to ask for pain relief.

Drinks bottles with sports tops are helpful for when you can’t twist and turn to drink from a normal cup.

Good luck! I’m sure it will be fine. It’s a surreal experience but it was deffo the right one for me and I’m sure it is for you too.

I had an elective C section for my baby 6 months ago and the experience was fine. They called us in for an overview of the process a few days before the surgery where they explained the process. I had some bloods and MRSA swabs taken as well. You have to be nil-by-mouth from 12 am the previous night and they give a drink to have in the morning as you come to the hospital. Take a shower before the surgery. Your assigned midwife will guide you through the surgery as well as the anaesthetist. I was apprehensive about the spinal anaesthetic and the catheter but I barely felt it. The surgery itself was ok. Immediately after, I had my baby for skin to skin and feeding. They will give you something to eat after. The catheter was removed 8 hours later I think. Someone checks for bleeding intermittently. Ask for help when you get up the first time - it's not easy. Your first wee will be in a dish thingy since they need to check the output. The most difficult part was walking and getting up for almost a week after. You can feed the baby, hold the baby and all.
My post OP issue was that my skin sutures were not very well done. So it got infected later. Make sure someone checks them regularly. Feeding was a bit of a struggle coz I was a first time mum, but other than that we were fine. I was back to walking and doing physical activities within 10 days. Dont worry, they take care since it's a major surgery.

I wish I knew there would be bad trapped gas pain afterwards from where air is let in during the surgery. I didn't know what was going on for about a week and thought there was something wrong with me!

That pain relief consisted of paracetamol & ibuprofen & they discharged after one night!

Also I was wearing pants and a pad. The tube of catheter just came out of leg of underwear.

Take a long scarf and tie it to the bottom of the bed. Use as a hoist to sit up, it was the best advice I was given and helped so much

That I would lose all feeling in my stomach. The must have cut a nerve.

Get the big thick maternity towels.. not the thin slimline ones. I didn’t bleed heavy or for very long afterward but I do use them horizontally across my incision which draws moisture out and feels a bit like a cushion over it.

Nighties are your friend. I hated having my legs out but I wouldn’t have been able to get pj bottoms on for the first couple of days.

Ask for lactoluse or similar laxative/softener afterwards. And don’t panic when you still haven’t been after 4/5 days. I couldn’t go for 5 days but had been taking lactoluse and honestly it wasn’t bad at all. It’s more the thought of pushing for a poo that makes it harder to actually do it. But you’ll wonder why you made a fuss afterwards.

Don’t dry it with a hairdryer, people will tell you to but you’re just blowing dust and long into your incision. I dabbed mine with a cotton wool pad and stayed bare for 10/15 minutes after my showers.

You’ll think you’ll be sore forever, but then one random day you’ll realise you’ve got up easier, gig out of bed faster and put your knickers on without letting out a ‘thats sore’ breath.

Don’t do too much.. even after you feel better in 2/3 weeks time. I thought I felt loads better and went shopping then felt awful and sore the day after.

Enjoy it!

How do people handle the hunger? I have to have a planned cesarean if I have another baby as my EMCS surgery was very complicated, but I love my morning breakfast and can't imagine going all day without food 😭

To be fair, I had eaten in the day before my EMCS and vomiting wasn't fun so I understand why.

You need giant pants so they go up much higher than your section scar. I went for m&s full granny pants in 2 sizes bigger :)

For a while, I was on the bed, on a pad (they checked and changed it frequently), with the cathetar in. They checked I could walk after 8 hours or so, and removed the cathetar then, in the hospital bed. I was quite worried about the feeling of that, but I barely noticed it. They gave me hospital pants and a pad then. You won't be discahrged until you've peed enough, they have you use a cardboard bowl thing and show them :/

I didn't have any wind pain, but I took peppermint capsule pills religiously (probably too many, everything was very hazy for me) upon Mumsnet advice, so that might have fixed it. Also on mumsnet advice, I chowed down on orange juice and fig rolls and grapes for a few days, so the first few BMs (sorry TMI) weren't remotely traumatic or any effort on my part!

Walk around asap when you can feel your legs again. Little and often, and straighten your back properly. It's a really weird sensation, like you're being pulled into a hunched position. I believe you're meant to recover faster with very gentle walking in a proper position. I still find the post c-section shuffle funny, I don't think I could walk at full speed for more than a month! But it wans't due to pain, it was just a weird inability to go faster.

We arrived at 8am sharp, met surgeons and other people, they clippered a bit of the hair. The spinal was put in in the operating room - I was very nervous and they let DP come with me for that bit, but they usually prefer to do it alone I think. The first needle was sharp, but it was otherwise fine. Baby was born at 9.30. The spinal did make me itch a lot and shake towards the end, so they gave an antihistamine via drip, although the itching took a couple of hours to calm down. The pre-op midwife told me not to take the morphine or I'd be stuck in there for days, so I didn't. That's the only thing I'll do differently next time, I feel I would have been calmer and recovered better from the shock of it all if I had.

I had my second c section last week. Best advice I can give is to get up and move around as soon as you feel able. It will be the last thing you want to do, but it makes it so much easier in the long run. First time round I hobbled around like a hunchback holding my tummy for days, this time I deliberately made the effort to walk normally and my muscles haven't stiffened up to anywhere near the same extent.

The midwives should check on you pretty regularly - every hour or so at first. The sooner you show them you are mobile, the sooner the horrid catheter can come out. And once the catheter is out and you've proved you are peeing normally they will remove the cannula from your hand. For me, the cannula is the worst bit of all, I hate having a needle stuck in my hand for hours. It doesn't hurt as such, it's just very uncomfortable and you feel very conscious of it throughout.

Once the catheter is out, you have 6 hours to produce a certain volume, so it's better to wait until you really do need a pee rather than going back and forth to the loo for little dribbles. They will give you a cardboard basin to put over the loo seat and catch the pee, which you then show the midwives. It will sting a bit when you pee for the first day or so and this is normal.

Be prepared for a long wait when you arrive - there were 3 of us booked in for electives and we were all told to arrive at 7am. I was the least complicated (one woman was diabetic, the other was having twins) and therefore last on the list so didn't go into theatre until midday. Take a book or you'll sit there worrying about the surgery.

Last thing to think about is the trapped wind so pack peppermint tea in your hospital bag. It's better to let the wind escape rather than trying to be discreet - first time round I was too embarrassed to burp and fart on the ward and it was agonising. This time I didn't care (it helped that the woman in the next bed was trumpeting away too) and I didn't suffer nearly as badly.

The trapped wind pain and not being able to go to the toilet for 4 days were defo the worst part for me, that was so painful. Nothing they prescribed helped me so in the end I sent my DH to buy me a tin of prunes and I sat eating them at 1am...that sorted it out and I felt better the next day.

Mine was an afternoon section so was advised to eat a reasonable breakfast before 0600 and not to drink after 1000. Had to be at the hospital for 1100. I was second on the list - first went down around 1300, we went down just after 1400 and baby was born at 1520ish.

They put incontinence pads under you and maternity pads between your legs to check the bleeding. In my case, they took the catheter out the next morning, checked I could stand, and then gave me disposable pants and a pad.

The first wee is sometimes full of blood - not sure why but that’s been the case for me after both sections. The second was fine! You have to produce a certain volume before you can go home.

You will have the cannula in for a while and it gets really annoying as the heat of the post natal ward means you get sweaty and the adhesive starts coming off on the tape holding it down... I kept asking whether it could be taken out but they wouldn’t do it until late morning the next day as they weren’t entirely happy with my blood pressure.

Take a water bottle that you can open one-handed - I sent DP home at night so he could get some sleep but got him to line everything up on my hospital table so I could reach myself. I also packed things in clear large food bags so I could direct him to find stuff easily, and had a bag specifically for useful bits like wet wipes, hair bobble, etc, which worked well. Also take some snacks! I had shortbread for that first night and a bottle of full sugar Ribena, which really helped.

Stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen for at home, and I would also get in peppermint capsules for trapped wind (I didn’t need them in the end) and arnica for bruising (had to send DP out for this but it really helped).

You will be sent home with anticoagulant injections (Fragmin, Clexane, etc) to self-inject for ten days. In most places the council will collect the sharps bin once you’ve done. The needle is really fine although it isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world - they do sting a bit.

Take your painkillers on a schedule (my lovely DH took it upon himself to organise this and either remind me or bring them to me) so you keep the discomfort at bay. I never felt any pain from my section and I think keeping on top of the meds really helped with that.

I had a HCP be a bit no-nonsense before she mobilised me the next day and basically said the earlier I got up and moving and peeing normally the sooner I could go home. I'm normally very squeamish and a bit of a malingerer, but that really got me into a good frame of mind. Don't be going mad, but also don't be too afraid to move. I also thought I could turn my urethra inside out with the catheter if I caught it (don't judge 😂) but the catheter line will disconnect from the bag well before that will happen!

My recovery was a lot easier than I anticipated and I had no gas, little pain and was walking around town within a few days. One thing I did struggle with though is how numb my stomach felt afterwards. I'd bought huge baggy pants but these moved around on my stomach and rolled down onto the incision and the feeling on my numb skin was horrible. I instead loved a high waisted pair of control style pants that were tighter, stayed put and kept everything feeling contained. Had to get my mum to dash out and get me more as couldn't stand the feeling of anything else :) Mine was an EMCS so I hadn't really planned anything but if I did it again I'd make sure all the essential things I needed were at a higher level as I couldn't bend at all. I was so excited for my first shower after I got home and left DD with DH, managed to get myself undressed and in the shower and then realised I couldn't get my shampoo or conditioner from the floor of the shower. I was so sad having to wash head to foot with a bit of soap that was balanced on the taps :( it's those little things you take for granted.

Painkillers, whatever you can take exactly when you can take them.

My partner kept one of my little notepads and wrote down exactly what drug is taken and what time is taken it, so for 2 weeks he was like my home bound midwife nipping in and out of the living room with a bottle of water and a couple of pills every couple of hours with “you can have paracetamol/ibuprofen now, take these”

Honestly wouldn’t have been able to keep on top of them all my myself he was a life saver.

This is all such helpful advice, Thankyou!!
Can anyone advise on what you do regarding all your things. I’ve packed everything into one large gym/weekend type bag. Do you get allocated a bed which you go back to after being in recovery and where you will leave your bags? Or do I need to leave everything in the car apart from a nappy/ clothes for baby and slippers/dressing gown to wear to theatre and get DH to get the rest afterwards?

Great advice thanks! Just wondering did you get anti sickness tablets during and after the c section? Did anyone throw up? I’m scared of being sick whilst lying on my back and not being able to sit up. Sorry for random question x

Wish I had known that it was so much easier than a ‘normal’ birth and that recovery would be roughly the same. Have a water bottle with sports cap to hand to save too much leaning and reaching for a drink and download some box sets on you laptop iPad.

The best advice I got before my elective c-section was to take a big bag of dried apricots to snack on afterwards. I’d previously had an emergency section, and the co-codamol they give you on the ward afterwards really messed up my insides - it was more painful going to the loo than being in labour! Second time around no problems at all, thanks to wise mumsnetters and soft dried apricots!

That having a cough at said time of c section is really painful

Do you need a nighty for after the section while you have a catheter or could you just wear shorts/trousers and feed the tube out the top and carry it when mobilising?

Best advice I was given after my section was to bring a bed pillow to the Hospital, it was a great support for pressing into your section if you need to cough / sneeze / laugh. I used it for weeks after!

You'll go from theatre to a different bed (on maternity) than you started in, iirc. So I'd take belongings in 1 bag and then if there's more, stash in the car till after.

Unless you want to keep pulling your shorts down, nighty is definitely best for recovery day. You'll have had some sort of spinal anaesthetic so will need some help with pads (you will still bleed as your placenta wound heals, not sure why I didn't know this when I had my first section!).

An elective section is not as bad as you imagine. I was never in any pain, pain relief was satisfactory, but I guess I was uncomfortable sometimes. I was up and out of bed that same night, as the ward was packed and I had to pick up my baby myself (2nd baby, so maybe they thought i knew what I was doing). Went home the 2nd day, so in hospital just over 24 hours. I was walking to the shop pushing the pram a couple of days later.

I had anti sickness tablets before the section both times. They don't want you vomiting while you are on the table and I think the anaesthetic can induce nausea.

They'll want you up and about pretty quickly. It really does help your recovery. The following morning I was getting my own breakfast and had a shower.

I was glued, no need for stitches or staples.

I have permanently lost some feeling around my scar, don't know if that's usual? Doesn't really bother me so I've never asked.

Good luck! I'd totally do a planned section again. I was very fearful, it's major surgery, but it was fine to recover from.

The wind pains - honestly the worst pain I was in was the trapped wind the 48 hrs following my emcs. All around my shoulder area - thought I was dying! Bring rennie, windeZE, peppermint tablets etc!
Also you will bleed as long if not longer than a vaginal birth- big pads in the biggest pants you are get are the best!