Questions for moms who had a c-section

cmirto · May 2012

How long did you wait to take your bandage off? I am supposed to take mine off this week (I had the baby last Monday) but I am so scared to for some reason. Also, how long did you or are you going to wear your binder? My OB said to stop wearing it this week also because I should be stregthening my stomach muscles myself without something doing it for me.

mommy~to~mj · May 2012

They had me take the bandage off the next day and I never wore a binder. They wanted the incision open to the air. The staples came out after 4 days PP then just steristrips were on it. So far it's healed really, really well.

SteelCity44 · May 2012

I just had steri strips. Whatever didn't fall off on it's own the nurse took off at my 1 week check up. It's not as bad as you might think. They took the binder off me in the hospital because it got so... um... dirty. They didn't replace it because it's not good to rely on. It can really weaken your muscles. I would sometimes wear it when I was really sore for about an hour or two though.

huahualove · May 2012

My Ob said just let them fall off, and they would take the rest off at my 2 week appointment. Some came off in the shower and I took the rest off the day before my 2 week pp appointment.

Monicagail1 · May 2012

I think the dressing came off a day or two after surgery, and I never wore a binder. The staples were removed on day 4 and were replaced by steri-strips. They took the steri-strips off at my 2 week incision check. Everything's healing well.

shannm · May 2012

They took my bandage off the next day and I never wore a binder.

MrWhiskers · May 2012

Never wore a binder, I took the dressing off in the shower 2 days after, I still have the flesh colored bandage strips and wasn't given instruction to take them off. I don't go back to the doctor until 6weeks pp

jmc1017 · May 2012

The nurses had me take it off two days after when I was allowed to take a shower. Like PP they wanted it exposed to the air to heal. I never had a binder or anything. I only had steri-strips; no staples.

Beener0514 · May 2012

I had steristrips that the dr took off at my 2 week appt. I wore the binder and then the belly bandit pretty consistently for the first three weeks and have started to back off it now. I didnt really think about I weakening the muscles as PP said. I will definitely try to stop wearing it now!

ImThisBabysMom · May 2012

Annoyed....they DID NOT tell me when to take my binder off or that it could weaken my muscles. I've still mostly been wearing it because the support feels good. They took my bandage of day 2 at the hospital. When I got my staples removed, 5 days later, they put sutures on me that stayed on about a week.

kellbelle618 · May 2012

mommy~to~mj:
They had me take the bandage off the next day and I never wore a binder. They wanted the incision open to the air. The staples came out after 4 days PP then just steristrips were on it. So far it's healed really, really well.

This is exactly what I was told to do too

dubs3 · May 2012

MrWhiskers:
Never wore a binder, I took the dressing off in the shower 2 days after, I still have the flesh colored bandage strips and wasn't given instruction to take them off. I don't go back to the doctor until 6weeks pp

Same, except I don't have the strips

Johlise · May 2012

They took the bandage off the next day when they checked the incision. It's not that scary, trust me it's just steri strips, which if they are still on by next Tuesday at my 2 week appointment the Dr. will take them off. I wore my binder the first few days I was at home but got annoyed with having to take it on and off all the time so I just quit using it. They told me that some people really like the binder and others don't, so I pretty much could choose to wear it however long I wanted too.

devotchka81 · May 2012

I didn't get a binder and they took out the stitches at the hospital and put on tape that they said will just fall off on its own.

rxbeth · May 2012

They took my bandage off the next day. I have no steristrips or staples. I think my stiches were done to be on the inside if that makes sense. They never gave me or recommended a binder.

llizzyb · May 2012

They took mine off 24 hours later in the hospital. I had/have dissolvable internal sutures.

I wore my belly bandit around the house until I felt like the swelling went down. Never asked my OB about it

greenkitty98 · May 2012

They took my bandage off the next day. The home nurse took out the staples at 4 days PP and put on steri strips. Those fell off after a week or so. I don't go back to the doctor until 6 weeks PP.

The binder was for my comfort, so I was to wear it when I needed it. I mostly used it during the day through the first week when everything was the most painful. After that I used it when I felt more sore and needed the extra support or the couple of days my allergies were bad and I had a lot of sneezing. The binder made the sneezing hurt a lot less.

BelleWithABlade · May 2012

ImThisBabysMom:
Annoyed....they DID NOT tell me when to take my binder off or that it could weaken my muscles. I've still mostly been wearing it because the support feels good. They took my bandage of day 2 at the hospital. When I got my staples removed, 5 days later, they put sutures on me that stayed on about a week.

LOL it's ridiculous that some of the OB's are saying the binder weakens abdominal muscles. That's silly and there is no evidence of that. For the patients that I operate on that have abdominoplasty, abdominal liposuction, or TRAM breast reconstruction, I have them wear it for 6-8 weeks (which is standard in the literature). There are lots of studies on recutus abdominus strength following these types of surgeries. There really is no reason to wear a binder following a c-section other then comfort (my patients wear it to help the abdominal wall adhere to the underlying fascia since I move things around). Don't worry, you will be fine and your muscles will be fine.

As for bandages, the studies show that after 24 hours 85 ish% of people have re-epithelialized their wounds and after 48 hours >93 ish% of people have (this means it's sealed and relatively water tight. You can remove bandages anytime after that and it's fine. You may want to leave it on a few days longer for comfort, or replace it for the same reason. OB's don't have a lot of training or experience in wounds and wound healing so they tend to recommend a lot of voodoo. Thankfully no matter what you do, most people heal up just fine

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