c section

[rae80]

hi guys im having a c sectiom and i wanted to know from those of you who have had one whats the recovery time and pain like after the op

[Melbo]

Rae,

I had a c/section in April. I didn't have too much pain afterwards ... good pain management in hospital works wonders. I got up within 24 hours of the operation and started walking around and I think that helped a lot. Within about two weeks, I was pretty much back to normal though not doing anything too strenuous. I was still very able to look after and lift the baby as well as attend to myself. I hope your experience is as easy as mine was. Best of luck.

Mel

[~Jo~]

My experience was pretty much the same as Mel's though recovery time was more like 3 weeks. Hope it all goes well.

Jo

[nikbrad]

I had an emergency C/S and had no problems what so ever. I was walking around within 24 hours and took all the pain medication that was offered to me even though the pain was bearable - it was ver slight. (I had my gall bladder out a few years before and took only panadol and then suffered terribly when I got home as they gave me nothing when I left hospital as I was coping with the pain - learn my lesson from there!). I had a slight tightness/pull in my lower tummy for a few months but that passed. I was told my next baby would need to be delivered by C/S and this dosn't scare or worry me at all. Best of luck - hope you have a smooth journey too.

[Phteven]

I was up and about in 24 hours. The nurses at the hospital will probably tell you that its important to get moving as soon as you can to reduce the risk of blood clots etc but in case they don't I just have. Most of the pain was gone in 3 weeks but it still hurt a bit at my 6 week check up. I still have little numb spots on my tummy and I've heard that they can stay for years.

[Kirsty77]

Same again here. Pain wasn't to bad afterwards. The midwifes were great for handing out pain medication when I needed it. Didn't need any pain medication after i went home and after 2 weeks I felt pretty good.(enough to even dtd!!) The staples were a little ouchie on the edges but after I had them out it felt sooo much better!

[MUMMY4LIFE]

I found the pain for me was worse second time around then with the first. I was out of bed 12 hours after the birth of my DS and 24 hours with my DD. In hospital, when offered pain relief, take it. I don't really know why the pain was worse with my DD. With my DD the doctor didn't re-open the old scar, he cut a brand new one, higher up and a little longer.(I think this was possibly because she was breech) As for recovery, it took a little longer with DD, but was back to my old self pretty much by about 2-3 weeks after.

[EllyBoo72]

My exp was much like Mels, and being my first, i was too overwhelmed to care about the pain! I did however get contractions after the cs, but it was managed with pain relief. Good luck, You'll be fine

[rae80]

thanks a bunch guys thats made me feel a whole lot better my babys breach im 32 weeks pregeys now the doctor said he could still turn but gave me the option for a c section anyway so i took it my last labour was 32 mins from start to finish so im not risking another labour like that just incase the baby doesnt turn ouch

[*Rae*]

Hi Rae (nice to see another Rae around!!!) - my advice is to be as mobile as possible then u don't get too stiff. I had to go for regular walks down to the NICU to feed my dd and that really helped me recover quickly. Best wishes with it all

[David Vernon]

thanks a bunch guys thats made me feel a whole lot better my babys breach im 32 weeks pregeys now the doctor said he could still turn but gave me the option for a c section anyway so i took it my last labour was 32 mins from start to finish so im not risking another labour like that just incase the baby doesnt turn ouch

G'day Rae,

If you are only 32 weeks now then that leaves heaps of time for the baby to turn. I assume that your ob has offered you ECV. ECV has a good success rate. The Term Breech Trial has been comprehensively dismissed as poor science and thus there is no evidence to show that a c/s for a breech baby is any safer than a vaginal birth. And given what we know about the dangers of caesarean compared to vaginal birth, I think you should be asking your obstetrician to explain his reasoning to you for offering you surgery rather than the alternatives.

Good luck,

David

[Inanna]

Hi Rae,
We've 'talked' before! Good to see your pregnancy progressing.
My last two babies were breech at 32 weeks - statistically it is not uncommon for this to be so. Babies still have enough space to move around - just because a baby is breech at 32 weeks doesn't mean it will be the next day iykwim?
I used acupuncture to turn our babies - and I talked to them and told them if it was safe for them to be born head down then I wanted them to turn. I did lots of visualisations and the acupuncture and each time they turned themselves by 37 weeks.

I have worked in the qld health system and it can be difficult to attain a vaginal breech birth in the public system. However Caboolture hospital are one of the few that will assist this if you request it.

Ultimately a woman has to birth how she feels safest after independently researching. There are some great books on this subject that can really serve to educating on this topic.

I wish you a beautiful birth

[Debbie Lee]

Hi Rae,
I had an emergency caesar after a failed induction (commenced 5 days prior). So I was pretty knackered and I don't know how much going through part of labour affects the c-section experience. I also know that while some women cope with caesars alright, others don't.
I have to say that my experience really wasn't all that bad. I'd say the whole experience was more bizarre than anything!!
Recovery time wasn't too bad and I didn't feel as though I was in any more pain than friends that had had vaginal births (though some of them were pretty traumatic so it probably isn't a great means of comparison!).

Also, it may help to check out this thread: Caesarian Chatter

[Melbo]

Hi Deb,

I can only speak for myself but I feel that for me, choosing an elective c/sec was better than the possibility of an emergency one after a failed induction. I based my decision on what I had seen my sister go through ... two very different c/section scenarios with the elective one having a much better recovery period. She was knackered after her first too, not to mention upset and devastated.

I have nothing else to compare it with apart from anecdotal evidence from other people but I am still inclined to think physical and emotional recovery might be better if one doesn't have to go through labour first.

Rae - just wanted to wish you good luck. It is completely possible the baby may turn around so don't feel you have to make the decision now. I elected to have mine when I was over 41 weeks (my choice, not the doctor's) so there is plenty of time for you to decide.

[Colleen]

Hi Rae,

I had scheduled csection and i was in hospital for 8days, obviouslly thats not standard but I needed to stay a little longer.

I was up and about after 3 days, due to a need for a blood transfusion, but felt back to normal by the end of my stay.

[~Kim~]

Rae, like the others I was up and about after 15hrs. I was in labour 4 days prior to that and I didn't feel that hindered me. I had little to no pain on resting and slight discomfort when moving but I agree with pain medication if it's offered. The nurses deal with it all the time and they can see when people need it - usually.
The one thing that was a concern was going to the toilet - maybe TMI. If you can tolerate them ask for prunes or prune juice to make it that bit asier and also make sure you are mobile and do your exercises they give you for strengthening and support.
Good luck.

[Debbie Lee]

Ooo yeah... I agree! Going to the toilet (and particularly the first poo) was a little scary. I kind of felt like any pushing would cause my gut to split open (of course, that was just psychological). The first wee was a little scary because of having the catheter in... but it only stung a little bit and was fine the next time. They get you to measure how much you wee just to know that everything is working fine. You really do leave your dignity at the door once you wander in to the hospital, LOL.

Also.. after all the medications, pain relief, vitamins etc. etc. I was pretty constipated for a while - it took a good while to get back to normal. I don't know if that's indicative of a caesar or if it's just par for the course of having a baby. I know a few people that had vaginal births that had constipation issues afterwards too.

[rae80]

thanks deb its good to here from you again i think the last time we spoke it was about my placenta being over my cervix that all worked out great i think ill still go ahead with the c section after being offered it my mums cimming up for 3 weeks at the start of october so ill have heaps of help ive got 6 and a half weeks to go and i cant wait to hold my little miracle in my arms im not as scared about a c section as what i am about a natural birth ill keep you posted thanks for everyones advice on this matter i really appreciate your feed back