Poorly 2 days before ELCS

[PeeBeee]

Hey all!

I have an elcs booked in for Tuesday and I am so done being pregnant now, however I am feeling poorly - cough thats making me wee myself, chest feels meh, tired etc. it’s just a cold but do you know if hospital will maybe try postpone c section date?

i have a pre section appointment and I will mention it to them tomorrow but wondering if anyone has been in the same situation?

I am only 39 weeks on Tuesday and nothing medically wrong

No I don’t think they will.

unless you’re severely unwell they will want to go through with it as planned. Are you vomiting?

@3pancakesplz no nothing like that. Just a cough and feeling drained.
i really hope they don’t as it’s so close now, I would cry if it was postponed!

You can absolutely ask- nobody has the right to do anything to your body without your consent and that includes a caesarean. They may have lists and have booked it in and it may be inconvenient for them, so they may be reluctant. However this has the biggest impact on you and your recovery. The downside of delaying it is that you may go into labour beforehand and it will then be an unscheduled birth.

However, this is you beginning your outside relationship with your baby- I’d want to give myself some breathing space to recover first. Potentially most importantly, a cough that strong is going to put some serious tension on your stitches and will make the recovery more painful for you if you’re coughing more than usual.

A few days breathing space to give you and your body a break sounds ideal. Just remember that you do not have to go in on the date they have given you because it is all arranged. Their logistics are not important to you or your family, so don’t feel afraid to decline the date or say no. Feel free to take a partner with you to support you in that if that is your choice x

I had a cold and a cough before mine- it wasn’t nice coughing the day after surgery! The thing with coughs though is they can last ages so even if you postponed you might still have the cough

@Bumblebee413 thats the only thing I am worried about - a harsh cough whilst recovering from the surgery!

I am going to take it easy today and tomorrow and hope I feel a bit better! Thank you!

@Cameraclick that’s very true - the last cough I had lasted weeks so going to get plenty of rest and vit c and hope I feel better before Tuesday!

Sorry @PeeBeee I completely misread your post- I thought you wanted it postponed. It will be much harder to postpone it than not, so I wouldn’t worry about that at all. Just see how you feel and be kind to yourself. I know you’re so tired right now x

@Bumblebee413 the logical side of my brain says mention it to them tomorrow at my pre op apt but my heavily pregnant self is saying dear god no, let’s not be pregnant anymore as soon as possible😅

When I had my second he was a winter baby and I had a 3YO in nursery so being cold free wasn’t going to happen 🤣 Rest up this weekend but you’ll be fine! And good luck- you’re almost there!!

I had a really bad cough before mine. I mentioned it at the pre op and they just said I'd have to put a pillow over my scar when I coughed. No one I mentioned it to batted an eyelid. It still went ahead and yeah it was a bit rough coughing with the scar but overall it was fine.

Thanks all!! 😊 so ready to meet her now! I have a 22 month old so the day or 2 in hospital will probably help me better recover anyways😂😂

Good luck op. Keep taking lots of vitamin c and hopefully you’ll be feeling better by the time she’s here.

Ring the labour ward Op and speak to a midwife. I had d&v 2 days prior to my c-section and they told me when I rang they won't postpone (it wasn't an elective and DS2 needed to come cos he was little so not sure if that makes a difference) I was still poorly on and day and after the c-section! Because of the illness though I was placed in a separate room away from the other mothers - no one wanted me infecting the ward obviously! Good luck with your c-section!

2 things.... it's worth doing a covid swab if you haven't already - wouldn't necessarily change whether the section goes ahead if it were positive, but allows them to keep you away from other women/cohort positive patients. It is definitely worth mentioning it and having a discussion about the risk and benefits of proceeding/postponing (which will depend on why you're having it, etc). Aside from the post-op coughing PP's have mentioned, it can sometimes make the operation harder if you're coughing away throughout, but could also make a GA more more difficult too if they needed to convert from a spinal... it may not be a massive problem, but it needs some joined up thinking by the people who know you best. Hope it improves in time.

@Greybeardy thank you. I did do a swab last night and it was negative but will test again tomorrow before my apt and mention to them!