C section under general anaesthetic

[Kstewart18]

Hello mummies.
To those of you who had a c section under general anaesthetic, what was your recovery like?
I'm due to have one under GA at 38 weeks, which just so happens to be 5 days before christmas 🙄😬
I have two daughters and am doing an hours travel for christmas. I'm under no illusion that it will be particularly comfortable but I would much prefer that to having christmas at my house and I dont want my daughters to miss out on their family christmas.
This is my second section but i cant remember what i was like at day 5. I was in the hospital for 3 days (would have been out quicker but had issues with breast feeding).

Mine was an emergency and very complicated so I was still in at 5 days.

From memory I really struggled with the 5 minutes journey from the hospital on day 3. I felt every single stone on the road and my organs felt like they were jiggling around.

I had a section under GA many years ago and from what I recall, it was no worse recovery from my section I had a few years ago with a spinal. I walked out of the hospital day 4 and had to travel half hour home, no issues.
I think I was only I that long because that's what they did then (17yrs ago). Guidance has changed somewhat now and My last one 4yrs ago, they were trying to get you discharged day if there are no complications. The GA was so light that recovery from that was no problem either and i was fully awake and sitting up in bed a few hours after delivery.
I don't know whether you'd personally be able to do an hour car journey, everyone is different and recovers differently, but personally I could have as you're just sitting.
Hope it all goes ok. Xx

I'm not sure the GA would be the problem with the car journey, assuming no complications you should be recovered from that. It's the travelling after a section.

I'm sure if you want to do it you'll be able to though - my journey from the hospital was 30 mins and while I wasn't thrilled by it I clearly wanted to do it.

Baby in the car seat for an hour may be a bigger issue at just a few days old though.

I'd personally use it as an excuse not to see anyone and just bunker down for Christmas with my new baby!

Thankyou girls.
After my last c section I didnt find the car ride too bad at all as the incision was really low so I'm hoping that it will be the same.

The idea of missing out on a family Christmas is absolutely devastating to me. It's like a tradition. My midwife said bubba would be okay as newborns are fine for up to 2 hours in a car seat? We would stop half way anyway just to break up the journey. Lots of pillows maybe?

I'm desperately in the mind set of trying to make a christmas travel with a 5 day old possible!

Travelling with a newborn is fine, if anything the easiest age.

It's more about you op

I had my section in the afternoon and was out the next morning. Is that possible after a GA?

I had a section under GA with my third son and the recovery was pretty much the same as my sections with spinals. I would also worry about the drive though, with my most recent section (3 weeks ago) I was still in pain on day 5.

I had an emergency C at 35 weeks (abrupted placenta).

It was at about 5am and I had little idea about what was going on until about 12 hours later.

Once I was moderately coherent they took the catheter out (I am guessing that was about 8-10 hours later).

I was allowed home by Day 3 lunchtime (ward was horrible-so noisy!). That was more to do with DD having been in NICU than me.

It was my wedding on the Saturday (day 6). I didn't need to walk about much or carry anything. Admittedly it was a small gathering, but I was perfectly able to go through with wedding breakfast and lunch...others pushed the baby in a pram.

Can you get a lay flat car seat and pram and take the journey slowly?

I had a section with a GA

And one with a spinal

Home day after both of them

Much much worse pain wise with a GA

Are you phobic of a spinal or is there a medical reason to do it? I'm wondering if they can give you a spinal as well as a Ga as it hurt SO much when I had the GA

Make sure you take oramorph every two hours

G XX

gA should not impact recovery. In some ways in might be better because you won’t have the numbness, so once you wake up you will be more mobile.

The only caveat would be if you are one of the very very rare people who reacts really poorly to GA. It’s incredibly rare. I am one of those people. We knew that though based on previous surgeries so they didn’t even do a regular spinal for me for my C-section. But again, it’s really, really rare.

No I unfortunately cant have a spinal as i have a bleeding tendency and a damaged spine. My last c section was also GA so I wont have a comparison to spinal.
I didnt find my pain too bad after day 2. Before that I was taking codiene and was okay. After day 2 it was just paracetamol but regular.

You need to check the specifications of your car seat, I think its very unlikely the manufacturers details would say its ok to put a baby less than 7 days old in the car seat for a straight hour.
Of course if you are set on travelling then you could stop for a break and take baby out half way and break up the journey.
Or could you not just celebrate Christmas with family the week after? It's the getting together that matters rather than the date! But as an NHS worker my family are well used to doing this for me as I half to work most Christmas days.

I had a EMCS last year under GA and was out the following day. I recovered pretty well. Was sore and tired for the first couple of weeks and struggled to walk long distances for around a week. I just kept dosed up on painkillers. In regards to car seats Ive read somewhere that you should only keep a newborn in a car seat for 30min at a time. Something to do with pressure on their airways.

I had to drive (or be driven!) an hour each way to get my 7 day old baby’s tongue tie cut. So hour there, hour or so at the place, hour back. (Actually more than an hour as we stopped for a feed and to get baby out of car seat during the journey) Pain wise from the section I was fine - though mine was just a spinal. I was still taking dihydrocodeine, paracetamol and ibuprofen to the clock at that point; I could have dropped the codeine around day 5 but knowing I was doing the journey I just kept on with it.

I’m fairly certain it’s 30 minutes in a car seat up to 4 weeks.
www.nct.org.uk/baby-toddler/winter-your-baby/driving-your-baby-or-toddler-long-distance-tips-for-road-trips
Day 5 I was still in a lot of pain, the car journey would be less worrying that not being in my own bed etc.

I would be taking a break in the middle of the journey anyway for mine and babys sake

From your own recovery perspective even people who have the same operation more than once can have a different recovery journey each time.

Taking a baby to get a tongue tie fixed is for their benefit, there are people who live far from hospitals and have no choice about doing long journeys.
I would not choose to bring the baby in the car seat for that long, in December, so pretty cold if you get out for a break, unless it was actually necessary. I agree with @SouthwestSis that the date is not important.

It's not just about the date. It's about spending christmas with family which we do with my other 2 children every year.
I would hate for them to miss out on that.