What to expect?

Tiffany0416 · July 2012

My doctor had told me from my very first visit with her that I will most likley have a c-section due to my condition so I was wondering what I should expect for the day of and recovery.

bcustons · July 2012

I had a completely unexpected C-Section at 39 weeks. They decided at 39 weeks that my Ally was breech and I had to have her out the next day. I was lucky and didn't focus on the C-Section. I had a great expirence.

I forced myself to get out of the bed 12 hours after the C-Section. The first couple minutes are hard, but it gets much easier. I did not stay in bed in the hospital. I just would force myself up. The catherer hurt worse than anything. I had very little bleeding or anything. We opted to stay the extra night in the hospital since we had guests at our house. I got home and had no issues with stairs or anything. I stopped taking anything except Advil as soon as I got home. I was cleared to drive 5 days early. This week will be 4 weeks from my C-Section. I started using the eliptical machine with no issues at 3 weeks. My scar is healing well. I am really surprised at how quickly I recovered, but I am in good shape.

ladybugpjb · July 2012

There are a lot of posts like this - browse a few pages and you'll find some. You'll find good experiences and bad experiences.

Mine was unscheduled, so I can't tell you what to expect for a scheduled one as far as "day of" prep.

For recovery, everyone is different. Mine was really easy and I felt great within a couple of days (physically). A lot of women post on here about issues they are having a couple of weeks PP, so browse down and read some of those to get an idea.

dragossoul84 · July 2012

My c-section was unplanned but one thing I wish I had been warned about was the very first time I got up after it, was very painful. Dont push yourself to hard take things slow

coromble · July 2012

Ok, first of all, it's not that bad! Two things: stay ahead of the pain with meds, and know that the first time out of bed is the worst but then it gets much better! The first time out of bed really hurt, but then the next time was exponentially easier. I'm about a week and a half pp and I went out for a short walk today! Just take it easy and if you have someone that can stay with you to help you out, definitely do that! My husband was home the first week and now my mom is here this week since he went back to work. Don't push yourself too hard, and don't stress about the operation. While I was still laying on the table, the doctor told me I would definitely need another csection and I was actually relieved because it wasn't bad at all!

Tiffany0416 · July 2012

I'm not worried about it. In fact, I was relieved to hear the news. I just wanted to know what I should expect since I really don't know anything about it. From what I understood, you get drugged, sliced, and then you see your baby. I've heard the recovery is worse on c-sections than vaginal but I guess since you didn't have to do any of the work pushing you get the pain on the other end.

BLM10 · July 2012

I've seen a trend between faster/easier recoveries and GETTING OUT OF BED as much as possible. My son was in the NICU for 10 days and I was walking up and down the hall to him nonstop for the first 3 days (before I was able to room in with him). I had VERY little pain- the worst was when I had to sneeze or cough. I did prefer to sleep mostly upright for about a week but I never had horrible soreness, fatigue, debilitating pain that kept me down. Honestly, my recovery physically was a thousand times easier than my emotional recovery and dealing with the complications of chorio and my son's sepsis.

Tiffany0416 · July 2012

I am sorry for the complications. I hope your son is doing much better. And thank you for the information.

BLM10:
I've seen a trend between faster/easier recoveries and GETTING OUT OF BED as much as possible. My son was in the NICU for 10 days and I was walking up and down the hall to him nonstop for the first 3 days (before I was able to room in with him). I had VERY little pain- the worst was when I had to sneeze or cough. I did prefer to sleep mostly upright for about a week but I never had horrible soreness, fatigue, debilitating pain that kept me down. Honestly, my recovery physically was a thousand times easier than my emotional recovery and dealing with the complications of chorio and my son's sepsis.

BLM10 · July 2012

Thanks, he's so much better now.

I have 2 mom-groups, one birth month FB and one birth season local, and far and away, the section moms who had easy recoveries got out of bed quickly and often. I'm a believer that it helps. Good luck!

bluemudd15 · July 2012

I had a great planned c-section. I was in and out of surgery within 3 hours of my surgery time. I was up and moving within 6 hours. It was uncomfortable but honestly it was an overall great experience. The only time things were bad was the sun-burned pain I felt over the small scar. Its literally 4 inches long, with the thickness of pencil lead. The hospital will tell you not to eat after midnight the day before your surgery. They may give you a prep kit to clean the incision area. This minimizes any risk of infection. At the time of surgery you go in and get a quick work up, bp, temp, insert IV, that sort of thing. Then you'll wait for the epidural, they'll numb the area first, then give you the epidural. I was very nervous and scared, but it really wasn't bad. They'll insert the catheter once you are numb from the waist down, next they take you into surgery. The actual surgery lasts about 30 mins and DH can be there with you. Once little one is born they close you back up (with a quick check to make sure everything is in order, bladder, uterus, etc) within a few minutes. You're taken to a waiting area with a nurse to let the epidural wear off. Once you're no longer number they take you to your room where you can spend time with DH and little one.

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