Hospital bag for C-section

[Minniethemoocher]

Is there anything that I will need in my hospital bag for a C-section?

I have been recommended to take Arnica tablets, both before and after; slip on slippers so that I don't need to bend down to put them on.

I am thinking of taking Rescue Rememdy to calm my nerves ( I am absolutely bricking it at the thought of a section!!!)

Any other advice/tips/reassurance very welcome!

Apologies if this has been asked before, couldn't find a thread when I did a search..

hi minnie, i have just had an emergency elective c-section and been AMAZED at how quick the recovery is. felt like atruck had hit me for a couple of days and then it's been fine. worst pain was in my shoulders, funnily enough, and was actually wind would you believe? they can give you a wee tablet to help disperse it. also get them to give you lactulose night and morning as that first poo can be a bit of a 'mare with your stitches. good luck, don't worry, it isn't as bad as you might think.

Watch your slippers don't slip off too easily.

Shave your bikini line down quite low before going in, do not wait for a nervous looking student midwife armed with a dodgy bic disposable.

Big high waisted granny knickers, not disposable unless you like torture. You will have to find proper granny pants in a proper granny shop. up to your armpits should be fine.

Cartons of fresh orange, helps with the constipation.

Stuff to help with wind, peppermint is meant to help. You can get a lot of trapped wind (burp moreso then fart variety).

Biiiig pants!

I still wore my maternity over-the-bump knickers after my sections as normal pants rubbed my wound. (And big ones hold your pad in better).

Also take towels (hospitals rarely have any), clothes if you want (I couldn't bear lying around in my pyjamas all day so wore loose comfy clothes) and things to read.

As well as the usual stuff for you and baby.

Don't take masses if someone will be coming to visit you eg DH/DP - there is little storage in hospitals and your DH/DP can always take dirty stuff home and bring fresh clothes, babygrows etc in.

take in a pillow from home (much nicer than plasticy hospital ones). i found a bobby cushion great for bfing.

agree with the poo recommendation!

don't be scared it will be fine and you are going to have a baby! good luck

DON'T shave before going in - many hospitals now don't shave prior to elective sections, or if they do they do it when you're on the table to reduce the risk of infecton.

do you want us to tell you what happens when you get a section, minnie? it's all still fresh in my memory, if that would help? (course it might be a bit different but you'd get the gist).

How can they not shave you, or do other peoples hair not come up as far as mine. My scar is below my hair line, can't imagine them wanting to leave that.

I didn't shve it all off, just down a bit, and yes they were going to shave me until I told them I had done it already.

Just off to google non slip on slippers - I'm intrigued!

Skramble there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that shaving prior to surgery (any surgery) is not needed, and can actually increase post-op infection as many patients nick or scratch themselves when shaving themselves.

When I had DD3 in 2006 I was included in a randomised trial to evaluate shaving and infection rates (or something like that!) I was shaved in theatre, some women weren't shaved and some were done prior to their op. I don't know what the results were!

To the OP I would check with the consultant or ward staff before shaving, just to be sure what they want you to do.

Oh I am out of date then , what if you normally shave round about anyway

Ok, forgive me being completely graphic and honest, but after two c-sections, one emergency, the second elective, here's my check list:

Baby wipes or special moist toilet tissue wipes. These are for your personal hygiene. You are going to bleed a lot afterwards just like with a regular birth and it will be difficult/impossible for you to get up and out of bed to sort yourself out for a while. You do not want to feel icky and yicky.

I also favoured Always super heavy weight night sanitary pads rather than the maternity ones, or the ones the hospital provided - they don't say put - they have no sticky bit.

SEVERAL packets of disposable knickers at least two sizes bigger than your normal size so no digging in anywhere. Can you see how obsessed I am with a fresh fangita! .

Your v pillow or sausage as I called mine - long bead filled pillow for breastfeeding and also bump supporting whilst sleeping - mine was amazing for adding additional support in hospital once I'd had my babes. Take your own pillow - it'll help you sleep.

Get your partner to bring you nice food in after the c-section full of roughage. Like fruit salad and pea and ham soup. My doctor would let me go home until I'd done a poo - very difficult on crappy NHS food - chips with your rice and pasta anyone?

Basically, any short cut to keeping yourself feeling human that you might normally have to get up and go to the bathroom to do, you will be grateful for at leastin the first 24 hours.

You will fart loads - they take this as a good sign that all is well with your stomach and bowels etc.

Shave yourself, but do it as low as you dare to go, the lower you shave the lower they will to the incision, and the better for you in terms of scar not showing above bikini line etc.

Make sure they put your adorable new baby in their little pastic cot thingy as CLOSE to the side of you as possible - first c-section for me was much worse than second (recovery was a breeze) and I actually couldn't reach her when she was crying in the night because the pain was too much. Keep your emergency button close to hand at the side of your bed.

Ask for help with your bfing at every feed if there is anyone around. Shove their head on and don't be afraid to use a degree of force if they are squirming away, especially if you've got bigger boobs and they suddenly swell up quite hard. C-section can make it harder all round - you need all the support you can get if you want to BF. I didn't realise this with DC1 and failed to BF. Was much more informed with DC2 and would not let him turn away until I was satisfied he was properly going for it. INSIST you get your babe on the breast within half and hour to 45 mins of giving birth. Make sure your partner knows this is crucial in case you forget in a haze of drugs and emotions.

Finally, if you are in any pain relating to your operation, speak up. There is no need and you don't get a medal. Get them to up your dosage.

Very loose fitting clothes and big granny pants to go home in. You will not want anything within a mile of your scar for a good while in terms of clothes etc, so big baggy granny pants up to your armpits, trackie bottoms, but none of your trendy low waisted nonsense.

Good luck - and take a bit of make up if you'd normally wear it so you can make yourself feel ready to face the world when you leave hospital.

Oh, and a CD of the music you would like playing when the op is happening - I got lucky with DC1 - the radio was on and she was born to Robbie's FEEL - (wouldn't havae chosen it but hey, there's worse). Second time round I took my KEANE CD - everyone in theatre seemed happy with my choice!

Oh god, mammoth post, amd so sorry

Agree with everything Sycamoretree says really!

I'd also add a nightshirt for after the birth - you'll have a catheter in for a few hours and will need help changing your pad, so a pull-up nightie is best, I took a couple of pairs of yoga/jogging bottoms and t-shirts to change into once I was up and about. Also flip-flops are useful in the shower, esp if you're a bit unsteady on your feet and worried about slipping (I was!)

Sucky sweets and lip balm to counteract the hot, dry atmosphere on the wards. Juice and/or squash if hospital water is not your thing! Also some magazines or easy-reading books - the last thing I thought I'd be doing was reading but I found it soooooo hard to sleep at night having a magazine to hand was useful.

As everyone else has said, BIG pants - i bought a six pack of M&S waist high knicks, two sizes bigger than normal.

And do not be afraid to use your buzzer if you need help - you'll be encouraged to get up and about as soon as you can, but don't struggle unnecessarily. And keep on top of your pain meds.

Besy of luck!

Like Aitch says, if you want to know anything else about any aspect of the section let us know. Honestly, the op itself is a bloody breeze really - you just can't believe how, well, undramatic it all is...until of course they lift you lovely new baby up to you and your partners legs go to jelly and he has to sit down and do a big boo hoo...or was that just mine then?

Oh, and some nappy sacks to dispose of anything you want disposed of from the confines of your bed (the used baby wipes - eeuugh - sorry to be such a yuckster)and then get your adoring partner to tootle off with the bag and drop it in the hospital bins!

My top tips:

• M&S is the best place for Granny pants. I don't know the name of the style but you can get decent looking ones that go up to your armpits. I used them as maternity pants as well.

• Don't worry about being nervous. I was before hand but once you get there its easier than I imagined, especially when you are thinking about a baby. If you do find it difficult I know people who have asked the anesthatist (sp) to give them something to help.

• Getting someone to take in healthy food for you is a must, whatever type of birth you are having. I can't believe the rubbish they feed people in hospital.

Ha ha Fio Fio - I could do with a leetle bit of pethidine to get me through the rest of my day!

Thank you all so much for replying! Aitch would love to hear the gory details!

Sycamoretree - thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed post.

Now adding peppermint something to my list for the wind...I had that when I had a laparscopy, horrid pain in the shoulders.

By slip on slippers I meant backless ones, so you don't need to bend down to flip the backs on if that makes sense....

CD sounds great idea - I am worried that I will hear them cutting in to me. Aaaaagghhhh!!! Horrid thought!

You don't hear anything during a c-section, its not like they are cutting bone! I remember asking someone when they were starting the op and they already had! Honestly, you'll be amazed at how good everyone is, they do this every day and they know people are nervous.
The only thing I heard that I didn't like the sound of was the theatre nurses counting all the tools and equipment at the end to make sure they still had everything (and it wasn't in me). I couldn't believe how much stuff they had used.

i agree with the others. except i had no problems bf after a section - except convincing the bl**dy Mw to pass me the baby when i was stuck in bed

baby latched on beautifully in recovery and has barely been off since

i went home 24 hours after teh op coz i hated the post natal ward. but the op was fine. and i got discharged with a HUGE stash of great drugs

No, you don't hear anything and will have no indication of when they've finished preparing you and have started the procedure.

You will get your epidural put in first, which is the only bit you have to be a bit brave about. It's a bit tricky at first, lying on your side in the right position with a buge bump in your way, but you need to curl yourself up as best you can - or, if you're sitting like I was when I had Emergency section "arch your back like an angry cat" he said it so many times, I nearly decked him...in fact, I think my husband did. They will put the catheter in - can't remember exactly when - other posters can help on this.

They wheel you in. Put up screen in front of you. Partner by your side at your head - they can't see anything either. Anaethestist (sp?) by your head most of the time checking you are ok. They paint you with something like Iodine I suppose to make you all clean and after much muffled chit chat that you can't understand because you are trying to decide between craning your neck to hear it or lying back and thinking of England they presumably start the process. The ONLY thing you can feel is a bit of tugging - especially if you're is a +10lbs whopper like mine were - someone told me it feels like someone's doing the washing up in your stomach - which it sort of is.

You'll be given babe as soon as delivered, providing no obvious problem, but then he/she will be taken to have all the checks pretty swiftly and wiped up a bit and wrapped in a towel or something, because you can't really snuggle them up against you to keep them warm whilst you get stitched up.

Once you are, they'll wheel you to a special observation ward for a period of time, where you have to keep the bloody BP automatic cuff on for what seems like hours - quite hard BF'ing whilst that's going on - DH kept having to take DS's weight for me.

Once they're happy you're ok, you get wheeled to post natal ward with all the other mums. You will still have a bag of wee sstrapped to your gurney and they leave your ccatheter in for a while. Some dr's leave your epidural in, others don't. I've had it bboth ways - preferred it being kept in and being topped up that way.

You will have a pressure bandage on your wound for a while - when they take it off, it is a very effect bikini wax for any stray hairs that escaped the pre op shave....

You'll be a bit horrifed the first time you see your scar, but rest assured it will become, in most cases, a thin white line eventually.

Your legs will still have no feeling in them when you emerge - eventually this will pass. They'll try and get you up as soon as possible and moving around. You'll have tube socks on your legs to avoid clots. So - you are basically looking pretty hot right now.

When they take the catheter out, you will do a wee, the volume of which will astound and amaze you. If you are lucky, the will give you a wierd bottle to take to the loo to measure it in. You will be proud of this wee.

You may be required to poo. Do your best to oblige - it won't be easy on all those hospital carbs.

You will be given an amazing cocktails of drugs that you will not abuse for other aches and pains long after you've healed form your c-section

Good luck - from your exceptionally long poster who is clearly having a very quiet afternoon at work

Wow, Sycamoretree, what funny posts and very informative!

The only thing i will add is to make sure the anethatist (sp) knows how much/little info you want to know when you see him/her for pre-ops. Mine gave me a minute by minute blow by blow account of what would happen with DC2 - DC1 was an emergency section - and i found myself counting down time and worrying if it took too long! After they gave OH the baby all i was thinking was "X minutes..what if i'm sick now, where would i move?? cant sit up, can't be sick on my face...." etc. For this C Section i will be asking for no info at all!

Also, don't forget to fill in a birth plan to state your preferences - just because you aren't GIVING BIRTH doesn't mean a baby is not being born!! i forgot this with 2nd DC and ended up not putting "fluffy wrapped" and had a fat faced daughter covered in white slime (which my mum told me was good for my skin and put some on her face yuk yuk yuk).

Good luck! when are you booked in? i am booked for 3rd Nov!

Why thank you mam - just doin' ma job..or not, as the case may be!

I swear I heard the sound of crunching cartilage for both my sections! And I'm almost looking forward to feeling that 'rummage, rummage' sensation again in five month's time!

My top tip is the sooner you're up and walking, the sooner they let you out - and I could not wait to get home.

Oh, and your guts really don't spill out when you take the pressure bandage off - I was convinced mine would.

Music is great - they tried to dissuade us (turns out they wanted to listen to some sports programme ). So excuse no.1: no space, solution: ipod. Excuse no.2: no sockets available, solution: ipod (fully charged, battery speakers)...