I thought it was two weeks. I remember that I was finally feeling like I could drive again when they gave me permission. I drove myself home from the hospital after my first which was a vaginal birth. Lol. My h and I are planning a road trip soon after I deliver but I will need to be able to drive, so I was trying to remember how long I was not allowed to drive. Thanks ladies!
Mine was 2 weeks. My doctor told me I needed to heal a bit because you could injure your surgery area if you had to slam on the breaks really hard all of the sudden. Also, just get off the pain meds as soon as you can and try to just stick with the Advil.
Side question: Can you take Advil if breastfeeding?
Yes. It's an L1, so listed in the "safest" lactation risk category.
NIH: "Because of its extremely low levels in breastmilk, short half-life and use in infants in doses much higher than those excreted in breastmilk, ibuprofen is a preferred choice as an analgesic or antiinflammatory agent in nursing mothers."
Motrin is often prescribed to new mothers for post-delivery and post-cesarean pain management.
Mine was 2 weeks. My doctor told me I needed to heal a bit because you could injure your surgery area if you had to slam on the breaks really hard all of the sudden. Also, just get off the pain meds as soon as you can and try to just stick with the Advil.
We were told that you are considered legally impaired for 2 weeks after a c/s and legally not supposed to be driving. But it was highly recommended not to drive for 6 weeks because of the reason stated above. Also, because of where the incision is, you might just not have the strength to slam the brakes if you needed to.
I felt like I absolutely could've driven after a week or two, but DH wouldn't let me until 6 weeks - he's a personal injury attorney, and has worked for a couple of insurance companies, so he was already dissecting how the case would go if I was ever in an accident within that 6 weeks. IT SUCKED being home alone all day with a newborn and not being allowed to drive anywhere for 6 weeks.
Funny story: At about 4-5 weeks PP, while I was trapped at home, I was texting throughout the day with DH about how I wanted to go to Target when he got home from work, and all the stuff we needed. I was so flippin excited about going to Target, it was ridiculous. I took a shower and put real clothes on me and DD, and made sure DD had nursed, and we were all set and waiting for DH to get home, when he called and said "I'm at Target now, what kind of ___ did you need?" I don't even remember what I needed, but I completely broke down sobbing because he went without me. He thought he was doing me a favor and saving me the trip, but he didn't understand how badly I NEEDED that trip out somewhere. He felt bad. I think we wound up going out for dinner that night instead.
My understanding was always that once you were off the hard core pain meds, you can drive. The meds are the main reason you can't drive since they make you drowsy. I was forced to drive 4-5 days after my C-section because we had to take DS to the pedi for a weight check and DH had to go to work to attend an important meeting. I was feeling pretty good anyway so I stopped taking the pain meds the day before and from that point on, made short driving trips. My C-section recovery was pretty easy though and I had no complications.
Reading all the comments about insurance and liability make sense though - I am definitely planning to ask my OB about this. It would suck if I couldn't drive though.
I know most people are talking about what their doctors tell them. Keep in mind that your doctors don't know your insurance policy - talk to your insurance providers too!
Yes, definitely the case for me. I never would have even thought to check with insurance!
Re: Driving after c section
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https://www.csectionrecovery.com/faq.html
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NIH: "Because of its extremely low levels in breastmilk, short half-life and use in infants in doses much higher than those excreted in breastmilk, ibuprofen is a preferred choice as an analgesic or antiinflammatory agent in nursing mothers."
Motrin is often prescribed to new mothers for post-delivery and post-cesarean pain management.
I felt like I absolutely could've driven after a week or two, but DH wouldn't let me until 6 weeks - he's a personal injury attorney, and has worked for a couple of insurance companies, so he was already dissecting how the case would go if I was ever in an accident within that 6 weeks. IT SUCKED being home alone all day with a newborn and not being allowed to drive anywhere for 6 weeks.
Funny story: At about 4-5 weeks PP, while I was trapped at home, I was texting throughout the day with DH about how I wanted to go to Target when he got home from work, and all the stuff we needed. I was so flippin excited about going to Target, it was ridiculous. I took a shower and put real clothes on me and DD, and made sure DD had nursed, and we were all set and waiting for DH to get home, when he called and said "I'm at Target now, what kind of ___ did you need?" I don't even remember what I needed, but I completely broke down sobbing because he went without me. He thought he was doing me a favor and saving me the trip, but he didn't understand how badly I NEEDED that trip out somewhere. He felt bad. I think we wound up going out for dinner that night instead.
My understanding was always that once you were off the hard core pain meds, you can drive. The meds are the main reason you can't drive since they make you drowsy. I was forced to drive 4-5 days after my C-section because we had to take DS to the pedi for a weight check and DH had to go to work to attend an important meeting. I was feeling pretty good anyway so I stopped taking the pain meds the day before and from that point on, made short driving trips. My C-section recovery was pretty easy though and I had no complications.
Reading all the comments about insurance and liability make sense though - I am definitely planning to ask my OB about this. It would suck if I couldn't drive though.