Advice on c section

[Tadah2]

Sorry, I know there are a million of these threads, but I would love some specific advice. I am due my DC2 in a few weeks and I’ve opted for an elected section after a bad tear with my DC1. I was just wondering what to expect for the recovery, so if anyone could answer my specific questions I’d really appreciate it 😊:

• When you are on the ward, do the midwives have to help with getting the baby in and out of the cot for feeding/nappy changes/changing maternity pads? I was on a ward with my first (albeit during lockdown) and the midwives never came when you pressed the buzzer. So just wondering what the advice is on attending to the baby/yourself in the day(s) on the ward straight after labour.
• were you able to change your pad when on the ward? Did the midwives have to help? I bled very heavily with DC1 (all over the sheets etc), so needed to change my pad regularly.
• would something like this have helped you once you were at home? I’m tempted to buy one - but no sure how useful it will be NRS Healthcare 2-in-1 Plastic Bed Rail M48192 for Support, White https://amzn.eu/d/2ifLFJQ
• are there any other essentials you would recommend?

thank you so much!!!

Hello - yes midwives should help as much as you need, just keep asking! Your birth partner should also help - many hospitals let them stay overnight. Get some high waisted incontinence underwear which works as a pad too. You may well bleed less with a c section though. I didn't have anything to help get out of bed, but did need partner to pass the baby in the night for feeds for a few weeks as twisting and lifting was too hard - I didn't do it but I guess co sleeping would be another way around this. Get out of bed like you're still pregnant - roll onto side first.

Get a water bottle, and if you have stairs have little baby change stations set up upstairs and downstairs so you don't need to keep going up and down in first few weeks.

No I didn’t find the midwives provided much or any help with the baby, getting the baby out of the bassinet or changing pads etc and I had an EMCS.

Re help on the ward - I got plenty of help while on the acute ward straight after the section but I had to ring and ask. At this point though it was 3am and my partner had been sent home. Once I was mobile - my hospital got you up and walking about 12 hours post op I could manage using the bed as much as possible - ie using the controls to help me sit up etc.

At home I spent a few nights on the sofa at first and that really helped. Much easier and found it more conformable and sleep with my back into the v shape of the sofa.

And lastly - bending really hurts - as mine was a emcs didn't get chance to prep but once home my partner moved stuff like clothes etc to chest height for me

And on clothes - back to high waisted leggings and t shirts

I had my section at 5pm, i think I went on the ward at about 8pm. Baby slept in my arms until around midnight i think

I buzzed for her to be put in her cot and they came more or less straight away.

The only other time I buzzed was when I had referred shoulder pain. They responded fairly quickly and brought me peppermint tea (which worked by the way!)

Around 5am someone came to take my catheter out. They asked if i wanted my pad changed and I said yes, although I probably didnt need it. You do bleed a lot less with c section. About an hour later they helped me out of bed and into a chair.

At around 7 baby started crying and things were a little busier and they didnt come straight away when I buzzed. I decided to walk round the bed to comfort her and in the end picked her up and fed her. I went home not long after.

obviously every experience is different but hope that helps with a picture of what it can be like.

The best thing that helped me was taking numerous cartons on pineapple juice and coconut water. My husband stacked them up on the table before he left and i drank them all. It was nectar of the gods.
Highly recommended

I got plenty of help on the ward second time (post covid), but not so much first time (pre covid). I wouldn’t have needed that bed thing at all.

But both times I was totally capable of getting the baby out, changing a pad ect after a few hours, and DH was there the whole time.

Second time around I was home in 24hs - it’s not always as tricky as the scare stories suggest!

Also about the bed rail. No I wouldnt have felt I needed anything like this. It was uncomfortable but keeping topped up on painkillers and rolling on side to get out of bed, it was fine.

If it’s available next day on amazon, you can always wait to see if you need it

Not everyone will have the same experience, but I still bled a lot after my planned c-section, I’d say very similar to after my first (vaginal, bad tear) birth.
My legs were still numb from the spinal for a few hours so I didn’t wear a pad initially, the midwives put some of the mat things on the bed, and checked and changed those for me when they did the pain medication and observations. My catheter was due out at 11pm or something, so the midwives said they’d leave it in so I could rest and not worry about getting up for the loo overnight (because they wanted your first two wees after surgery done into a cardboard bowl to check that your bladder isn’t damaged) so I don’t think I wore knickers and a pad til the next day.

At my hospital birth partners had to leave at 9pm. The midwives responded overnight if I needed help with baby. It was a separate postnatal ward for c-section/difficult deliveries though, so perhaps that made a difference.

It depends how busy it is on the ward. My experience during Covid was awful as they were just so stretched. If your husband can stay with you, please ask him to.

When I got to the ward they did the first change as I was still unable to move because of the anaesthetic, after that I was left on my own. There were still covid restrictions so DP was the only visitor I was allowed and only for 2 hours at a set time.

DD was only 4lb 11oz and had a few complications. After the birth I was left in recovery totally alone, immobile, paralysed from the epidural, with her in my arms, it was the early hours, I'd been up about 22 hours, mainly in a state of panic, at this point and was terrified of falling asleep and dropping her but had no call button and there was no one nearby.

Actually recovering from the section was fine, I was able to move about normally, shower and do most things from about 8 hours after. The main thing I wish I'd been told at the start is to hold a cushion over your wound if you need to cough.