Planned c-section advice

[Mumlife96]

Hi just hoping for some advice or personal experiences to help me feel better.

I am booked in for a planned c-section in the next couple of weeks due to this baby being breech.

I had a vaginal birth with my first and although I was induced it was a really positive experience and I was hoping to do the same this time round. This Baby has been in breech position for a while and I even tried having a ECV which failed, so I opted to have a planned c-section over a breech vaginal birth.

I’m abit anxious as I know it’s major surgery and the recovery will be alot longer than my first birth.
has anyone got any positive c-section stories? Advice? Tips on recovery? Recovery whilst also having a toddler?

Just wanted to hear some stories to help me feel prepared so I can stop worrying as much and just looking forward to meeting Baby 😊

Firstly, congratulations on your upcoming new arrival , how exciting!

I had my first two DC naturally then 3rd was via a planned section - top tips are comfy clothes with elasticated waist (pj's bottoms/leggins) , set timers on your phone to top up your pain relief (best thing I did was keep on top of it) take it slowly and get plenty of rest when you can !

Thank you! It’s a positive is knowing the exact date we’ll meet our baby, will feel very excited and nervous on the day!

That’s a great tip about the medication! Did you stay in hospital long after? How was recovery with your older children to look after too?xx

Hi! I had a caesarean for breech last time.

I wrote this for a friend after

The caesarean has lots of positives. It’s very nice knowing the day your baby will be born.

For us, we arrived at about 7.30 and moved to recovery. Got ready & then went to theatre about 8.30. I suddenly became quite scared in theatre and was really shaky. It’s very overwhelming with lots of people talking to you & asking lots of questions. It’s bright and noisy. They do the cannula in your hand then the spinal (I was so nervous about the spinal but it took about 30 seconds and was absolutely fine 🙄). When you’re numb they out the catheter in your bladder. That was fine & pain free.

It’s quite quick when they get started, they ask if you want them m to talk you through it or not. They also asked if I wanted music but it would’ve been too distracting so I said no. When they start you can’t feel any pain but you feel lots of pressure and tugging & it’s a very weird feeling. Before you know it your baby is born! It’s so magical. They usually leave the cord to pulsate for a minute or 2 then clean up the baby before bringing them over. I was a bit shaky and overwhelmed so I didn’t want skin to skin. He was straight on me in recovery though. The rest of the surgery is quite quick & then you’re wheeled back to recovery to feed the baby & it’s all done!

In hospital I strongly recommend all the drugs. You also gave terrible wind (common with abdominal surgery), but it really was bad 😅 peppermint tea & mobilising really helps. Pack some peppermint tea in your bag.

The recovery is tough. Everyone recovers differently but it’s not easy caring for the baby because lifting, moving and standing is so difficult. It does get easier but you must give yourself time to recover. So many people do too much in the early days.

Top tips:

1. don’t tell anyone the date of your caesarean. Have a couple of hours just the 3 of you. It’s so special
2. peppermint tea is essential
3. take all the drugs you need in hospital
4. do everything you can to avoid constipation. I was lucky & didn’t have it but people who do really struggle. Lots of fruit & water
5. if you can, spend at least a week with no visitors. It’s such an amazing time
6. definitely keep on top of your medication at home
7. take it slow, no pressure to go for walks etc too soon. We stayed in for 4 days, then went round the block for our first outing
8. take loads of photos of the delivery of your baby if you can. They’re my favourite pics!

I would have been discharged the next day, but had to stay longer for the baby (she’s fine now!) def make sure someone is bringing you food and have those really sexy high waisted granny knickers in at least one size bigger than you normally take, if not 2. You want the opposite to pregnancy, things fastening high up (like round your belly button) rather than low down your scar. I found the whole thing very positive and will be having another with my second for sure. Best of luck!

I was just the same as you. It was lovely. Very calm, no pain (apart from epidural) nothing like my first which was vaginal with just gas & air. It's really important to keep up with your pain meds for the first few days. I was home within 48hrs and very gently pottering about. You'll defo need your partner and anyone else to keep your oldest busy. I basically sat on the sofa breastfeeding for weeks and watched the whole of game of thrones! I healed pretty quick from the C section. Try and lie flat and air it out when you get a chance. Good luck!

A pillow for your lap on the way home. That first drive was painful. Otherwise just keep ok top of your pain relief (don't be a martyr; it is after all major abdominal surgery!) and take it easy.

I've had two c sections one emergency and second planned. My planned section was great. It was really calm and such a better experience than the first time around. I agree with a lot of other posts keep up with your meds! That's my number one advice and don't be afraid to ask for something stronger I was given oral morphine as we're a lot of other c section ladies but once your home keep on top of your meds and stock up now. I set a timer for mine as if I forgot I could really tell. I don't have experience of a vaginal birth to compare but I found the recovery ok. You'll be sore of course and don't try to do too much like lift your toddler or anything like that. They will get you moving as soon as you can in hospital they'll encourage you to have a shower and take the dressing off to let the air get to the scar. My husband had 3 weeks off and I kept my nearly two year old in nursery for a couple of days. I don't know what your circumstances are but if you can do that it'll be a big help. Once my husband was back at work I felt quite confident and was moving around and driving again. Good luck and enjoy your new bundle .

Cough and sneeze holding a rolled up towel on your scar ! I was really unwell after my c section think I picked up covid and oh my god having a relentless cough the next couple of weeks was a killer. Get mobile and stand up straight. I know it sounds crazy but the more mobile you are the better your recovery should be. Stagger your pain relief so you are always covered. I forgot to take mine and I knew about it. Huge knickers! I was out the hospital within 24 hours and out shopping in town on day 6. Had a very easy recovery I was lucky.

I miss my everyone telling me to take it easy now lol no one ever looks after me 😂. Lap that shit up while it lasts.

I also second BIG BIG pants !

Exact same for me, first baby (now 4) was a straightforward vaginal delivery and my second was a planned c section due to being breech. Also tried ECV but she would not budge
The c section was very quick and efficient - we went into hospital for 7:30 am and she was born just after 10 am. I spent 2 days in hospital, same as my first.

My only real advice is to take it really easy for a while - you may feel like you are back to normal but it is major surgery and your body is still recovering. I healed very quickly but I made the mistake of doing too much too soon and ended up physically very drained - got a chesty cough which took weeks to shake off. I know this may not be easy with another little one but do try and rest as much as possible for the first few weeks.

Best of luck!

I’d agree with above advice not to tell people the date. I didn’t tell a soul first time and only told my parents second time (for childcare). I don’t like peppermint tea so I took colparmin capsules for the trapped air you can get in your shoulder. Just have a lot of help the first week. Your partner will be more confident second time round at dealing with a baby so during the night don’t try to get up. Stay on top of your painkillers, sounds obvious but I took the maximum amount up til 2 weeks and they help best if you don’t let the pain build up.

Just avoid any sort of abdominal crunch/sit up movement. It doesn’t actually hurt to walk or anything but sitting forward to get off the sofa or out of bed is the killer. Just awkwardly shuffle and have someone push you if needed. I had never been in hospital for anything before and I was terrified and it really wasn’t that bad at all, even the recovery!

Have your camera ready and get pictures as soon as they’re out. We got this second time and I was so glad I had it to look back on, rather than just once the baby is over being weighed etc. Kinda cool/creepy to show them when they’re older too 😂

Before your partner leaves the hospital that night make sure everything you need is sitting round about you up high and you have a long phone charger cable. Take a bag for rubbish too, I found I had nowhere to put it since I couldn’t go to a bin! Sit pants, pads and a spare nightie/pjs right at the top of your bag or sit them out. I needed to change in the middle of the night last time as my pad leaked and I’ve never felt so pathetic asking for help. The least helpful nurse came who I don’t think even knew I’d had a section so she didn’t lift my bag for me and just left again 🙈 I think I had a little silent cry as I stood there covered in blood 😂 Someone on here even suggested having a pair of pants with the pads already stuck on, so your partner doesn’t need to do it. Drink lots of water so you can pee more easily when the catheter comes out. This was the bit I struggled with both times as I just couldn’t make myself go. I read a tip saying stand up and sit back down if you can’t go. I also found that peeing in the shower seemed to happen more easily in the first few days than trying to go on the toilet.. ew but needs must 🤣 Good luck, you’ll be fine! It’s such a lovely relaxing experience

Pillow for your lap for the drive home.

It hurt to pee for about a week after for me.

Sleep propped up with pillows for the first week. If you lay flat you’ll struggle to get back up again.

Don’t try to do too much to soon. Build yourself up slowly.

I forgot to tell you about the socks! There lovely 😂

Wow thank you everyone so much for your stories and advice! They’ve really made me feel a lot better 🥰 Easy to forget how many of us go through it xx

Oh god the socks

Congratulations! 💕
Firstly wishing you all the best for welcoming your new baby into the world. I do miss those new born days and that bubble.
I had a c-section with my little boy who was footling breech. One thing id advise is if they offer for you to take morphine home (I'm sure it was that 🤔) but take it! Or the strongest painkillers they offer! I had my little boy in 2020 and I'd had keyhole surgeries before to remove endometriosis and thought I'd be okay with just paracetamol 🤦🏻‍♀️ it was very painful for the first few days just with paracetamol and when I called to try and get the stronger painkiller I couldn't get any (possibly due to the lockdown at the time). So if I were to do it again that's one little piece of advice I'd give/take.
A plastic bag on the car seat to help you swivel out.
Recovery is okay, I was up and walking about properly after 2 weeks. In between I did find waking up and getting out of bed a bit difficult however if you can sit up slowly, get a small footstool to help you when getting out of bed/swivel on a chair and hold your tummy as you stand it really helps, just take it nice and slow.
One thing I did find is the more I over did things when I felt okay the more I found I bled vaginally I checked in with the midwife she did say it was normal but again just to take it easy.
I tried to keep my wound dry for a couple of days and changed the dressing when advised, I feel very pleased with the scar it's barely visible now and I sometimes can't even remember what it was like or that I have a scar until writing it down like now lol.
Just know that everything will be okay, it is very daunting to think of but the team who look after you will be fantastic I'm sure.
Everyone's body is different I guess and heals in different ways but hoping this sheds some positivity that it will be okay.
Oh, one last thing - when I had my boy I was home within 24 hours because of Covid/the uncertainty in April 2020 I really wanted to stay on the ward as that first night and getting around was really bizarre and I felt quite vulnerable - if you get offered to stay and want to then go for it!
Wishing you all the best! ☺️

If you get itchy from the strong meds let them know they prescribe antihistamines, don’t suffer. Take all the meds on offer and a timer for staying on top of them is essential those early days.

The procedure itself was completely painless. The recovery is definitely hard but you really do get loads better every day. You will need a lot of help those first few days especially if you have another little one to look after! Take it as slow as you can.

I would choose a section every time, I felt much safer in the hands of the surgeon and it takes away a lot of the uncertainty. Try and have a good sleep the night before and then you can be fresh for meeting your new baby! I always think how hard it must be for women that are in labour for days to then go straight into newborn sleeplessness!

You will be absolutely fine! Try and enjoy it and let us know all about your baby!

Just wanted to update on here!

thank you all so much for all the advice 🥰 we’re now 3 weeks in and our baby girl is a dream. Our toddler has coped so so well with the transition to being a big sister and me recovering. So all the things I was really worried about never ended up being a major issue

the c section/ birth itself was lovely (as it can be haha, also daunting 😅 I panicked until I knew they had started and I definitely couldn’t feel it) but it was also a very positive birth experience.

feeling so much better now, moving around a lot more and feeling much more ‘normal’ but still not over doing it so I don’t push myself back

thank you all again for all the advice, was comforting to hear from people who had also been through it x