Advice on C section

Gingham_Ribbon

Good luck for a safe, comfortable birth and a wonderful time getting to know your baby! The section itself will be fine. Mine felt a bit like someone doing the washing up inside me!

Errata

I had my first baby normally but really didn't fancy giving birth to a breech baby vaginally and this wasn't recommended by my consultant anyway.

Good luck, enjoy your cooking.

galvanizersbaby

Good luck OP - I'm sure it will be fine.

I was in the same situ as you with my first baby and elected for a c section for my 2nd and even though my son was only 18 months when my daughter was born I made a quick recovery

Re the big knickers - definitely a must - you don't want your knickerline cutting in to the c section wound!

Errata

I was talking to a relly the other day about giving birth and c-sections and she told me her consultant advised her to have a c-section for her breech baby unless she felt like trying to post a double decker bus through a letterbox !

nadnad

i had a section 7 months ago - a planned one which from what i gather is a hundred times easier and better and less scary than an emergency one.

this is what mine was like:-
(not bad at all by the way)
you have to wear the stockings that go up to top of your legs to help prevent clots- we had fun getting those on as i couldnt pull them up what with my bump and all!
then the aneasthetist comes and talks you through everything
i went in the room sat up on the bed slouched forwards whilst they inserted the epidural - then when it starts to work your bum goes all warm and they lie you down quickly.
doctor checked epidural working by running an ice cube from my neck down and when i couldnt feel cold any more thats where it worked (for me about mid chest down)
then they inserted a catheter and its here you realise you can't feel a thing below! and also they were holding my legs in the air but i didnt realise for a minute they were my legs! lol
then consultant came in and did her stuff and then after a bit they brought OH in, we were all talking and gossiping and they were all very good.
There was about 10-15 people in the room so don't be alarmed at the amount of staff.
It felt very strange but not at all painful, and then after a while doc says "who wants to see their baby" and there he was!
They wrapped him up gave him to OH and then started stitching me up - which actually took longer than getting the baby out.

Afterwards:-
You do bleed, but i was told no where near as much as with vaginal birth.
Def. get big knickers make sure they go high up so as not to annoy your stitches/staples (i had staples)
I had a catheter for 1 day and couldnt get out of bed for 24 hours.
Next day they got me up and i was a bit wobbly but not too bad, I had a shower and removed the wound dressing.
Scar didnt look too bad at all actually.
After I had shower i moved around slowly, (first time you go to loo is scary! but not too bad), and gradually i was quite able - could pick baby up no bother, but did struggle to bend.
They give you plenty of pain killers - i got codeine and paracetamol - DO NOT forget to take these when you get out! I took them religiously but forgot one day and was very sore - I took mine for about a week and then didnt really need them.
I got out of hospital on day 3 after section, and was quite mobile, we went shopping less than a week later and I was stiff but fine.
Your stomach muscles will be knackered so take it very easy.
I drove after 5 weeks, but it is true - as long as you can do emergency stop and your GP and insurance company say its ok then off you go!
The only bit i struggled with for a couple of weeks was getting up out of bed.

Good luck!
And its really not that bad!

nadnad

oh and tea tree oil for the bath will help the wound.

foreversomeday

A tip from my friend who had a caeserean is to get one of those changing stations so that you are not bending over to change the baby. For the same reason, either get one which a baby bath fits onto, or bath baby in the kitchen sink for the first few weeks.

Also wanted to share this link with you:
Planning a Good Caesarean Section

Just a warning, there are a few horror stories on there, but they all seem to be about emergency caesereans rather than planned ones, which are a lot safer anyway. It has got some good advice on how to help you feel in control of the experience.

Good Luck!

thatgirlsam

regarding the big knickers - excellant idea for when you get home, the maternity unit should provide special stretchy knickers for you to wear while in hospital, they look a bit like a washing up cloth ~! but are specially designed not to put any pressure at all on your wound
--
and the pain relief - my advice is to take it regularly , drug rounds happen every 4 - 6 hours - even if you are not in pain i would advise taking the pain relief anyway to keep it at bay , its better to be constantly comfortable rather than wait for the analgesia to wear off and then ask for more ... you can be prescribed oramorph if you find you are in a lot of pain
-
-good luck with your new baby~! x

Js_Other_Half

thatgirlsam wrote: »

the maternity unit should provide special stretchy knickers for you to wear while in hospital, they look a bit like a washing up cloth ~! but are specially designed not to put any pressure at all on your wound

I got nothing at my maternity unit - had to send DH to Asda to get the huge big ones...lol.

lyndseyann

Lots of good advice give on here, so i would be saying the same as others.


Ive had 2 c-sections myself, and i would defiantly recomend the big pants!! But also, another tip and something to get your OH to help you with.. When i had both my sections, i got hubby to buy me some more maternity sanitary towels ( yes you would need them anyway) but to go across my scar.....he would put some watery savlon in a bowl with warm water from the kettle and bathe the scar with the water and cotton wool, should this need doing for you of course and it keeps the area dry and clean and then after for a bit of pressure release off the scar, lay a towel across it and it kind of cushions it away from the pant line. It wouldnt be for a long time as air to the scar is good, but just for those few first days at home. It tickles in a way!! That was just my suggestion though and for me it worked

Congratulations and good luck!!