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C-section, iif you had one please tell me the truth!!
I need some advice from those who have had a c-section....
do you really need help for 6 weeks after?
did you manage without support?
does it really hurt after?
how long did it take to heal?
The reason I am asking is that it has been mentioned to me today and a friend has said it will hurt so much after and I wont be able to cope on my own. My hubby will be there for 3 weeks so wont that be enough? I dont have family near me and I dont want to rely on MIL (will just stress me out). Please be honest as I need to seriously consider what to do.
do you really need help for 6 weeks after?
did you manage without support?
does it really hurt after?
how long did it take to heal?
The reason I am asking is that it has been mentioned to me today and a friend has said it will hurt so much after and I wont be able to cope on my own. My hubby will be there for 3 weeks so wont that be enough? I dont have family near me and I dont want to rely on MIL (will just stress me out). Please be honest as I need to seriously consider what to do.
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Replies
xxx
TBH the worst thing IMO about a c-section is the stupid catheter, mine really annoyed me especially as I was walking round, I had to cart it everywhere and it was near impossibe to wear pants (tmi!) so most of the time I lay in bed in a nightie with those maternity mats under me! Nice
so for me my scar took about 2 months just over to heel, as tiger lilly said i think the worst part was sitting up from lying down and gettin out of bed that for me was the most painful thing for a week or so because the scar was heeling it was tightening up and almost felt like it was burning!hope i helped abit!xx
In the last 4 months I've seen 3 friends have a section and only 1 looked 'normal' afterwards, hers was planned with no labour involved at all.
I'm sure your friend is not intentionally scaring you, just being honest.... you will need help afterwards - housework and getting up/down stairs are what my friend is struggling with the most. She has said she feels better now her stitches have been removed
Good luck and ((( hugs ))) it'll be a breeze ;\) xxxx
This is my first post here in Baby because I had my daughter my emergency section on Tuesday evening after 12 hours of labour.
She is now three days old and I have been allowed to come home today. I won't lie to you, it is a little bit sore around the area, but as some of the girls have said, the catheter is almost more of a problem than the other stuff!
I have bought a c-section belt from Mothercare which is very supportive and has warm and cold things to put in the pockets which ease the pain somewhat. I've read loads of stuff which says that as long as you keep up your pain relief, it is not too awful, so I'm trying that too, plus arnica tablets help tp bring the bruising out quicker..
Hope this helps, don't worry too much - sometimes (like in my case) there is no other way for the baby to arrive and you just won't care when that's the case!!
C xx
Congratulations on the birth of your little girl x
Yes, it is painful, but in my experience it is quite manageable, esp. with painkillers.
I was up and about pretty quickly, but in a ward of four, the others did take a few days. I would say that getting mobile as soon as possible is a good thing, so as soon as they encourage you in hospital after the op then go for it, although it may be sore initially.
The things I found hard were coughing (was told to firmly press a rolled up towel on the area, which helped) and I was also not confident walking up and down the stairs with the baby for a couple of weeks.
The thing is, even if you are up and around early and feeling fine, it is major surgery and you are supposed to be very careful because you can easily damage the area and end up back where you started. I was in hospital for a while after the op (not due to probs after the section) and so I spoke with a few doctors afterwards and every single one of them said regardless of how you feel, that I shouldn't lift anything heavier than my baby for 6 weeks, as SO many people ended up back in hospital after over doing it. There's multiple layers inside which have been cut, and even though the outside may look fine it takes 6 weeks for everything to heal.
x
Good luck!
Good Luck xx
We had an emergency section 8 months ago and it was tricky for the first week maybe. Laughing was a total nightmare-had to hold me wound and then it didn't hurt too much!
Going to the loo for the first time after the catheter was out (that was yucky staying in bed with maternity pads to get all the blood-sorry tmi but wish I'd know in advance!) was sooooooo painful but after that wasn't too bad!
Also, getting up quickly from a lying down position was very painful and I was probably over cautious! Best to roll onto your side and then get up-if that makes sense. You'll get info on how to manage.
Promise you'll be fine and I was sooooo proud of myself when I managed have a shower on me own for the first time the day after Alf was born-I felt like I'd run a marathon!
Good luck and look forward to hearing all about your lo over here in Baby,
Bekkie x
what ur friend said may be true for a few people but in most cases (like mine) its a very positive experience and i'd never worry if i had to have another one! x
BE ate my bloody reply grrrr!!
Anyway, I found it a good experience (em c-section) but to be honest I did take a long time to recover from it and felt sore for weeks. I was very lucky as my hubby gets 6weeks off with me having a c section so he was there to do everything that was hard work and I did the rest. He was wonderfull dont know how the hell I would have coped. We live in Germany so no family around to help us so hubby was very much in need!!
I took it easy and didnt go out walking for hours on end (just short journeys or get hubby to drive to the river then have a walk)
My scar is practically not there, its very low too. Itchs still now though but I havent got any numbness anymore.
I think I might opt for an elective next time so couldnt of been bad!!
Good luck xx
Don't worry so much you'll be just fine xxx
my oh also had 3 weeks and that was plenty. i felt fine when he went back to work i struggled a bit to get the pram in the car and things like that but i would call on a neighbour to help if i couldnt manage!
im sure you will be ok by 3 weeks after, still take care and leave some things for oh to do when he gets home but you'll be fine im sure
I won't go into detail as my section was quite different to a normal or even an emergency one due to complications etc..
I was up on my feet about 10 hours after section. I had a shower. It felt fine tho I was bent like an old lady..lol. I was sore once the pethidine or prescribed tablets wore off but, when they were working i was OK. I would not have attempted going out or bowling etc... my god!!! brave woman!!! Everyone is different and I think its best to think positive BUT dont feel like you are unusual if you are not out washing the windows on your first day out of hospital. Like someone said..it is MAJOR surgery and you are advised to take it very easy for the first 2 weeks. this is more to do with getting back the blood you lost, not getting run down and picking up an infection which could put your recovery wayyyy back and not doing too much so that you pull or tear your stitches.
Your OH been off for 3 weeks will be plenty of time for you to recover so please dont worry. I drove after about 4 weeks but found stretching to look over shoulder a bit hard.
Go into it with an open mind and fingers crossed you recvery really quickly. I think the younger and fitter you are really helps!
Best of luck and dont let other stories scare you. You are unique as is your baby and your experience will be like no one elses..
d xxx
One thing I would recommend is get big knickers for after your c-section! I tried putting back on my normal ones & they rubbed painfully against the scar.
I found I recovered quicker than everyone told me I would. A case of having to really as our twins were pretty poorly when they born & went to different hospitals. 2 days after the birth I was up and walking & commuting between hospitals. I would say take it easy though, even if you feel you're ok sometimes you can over do it & it does then hurt afterwards. Take all the help you can in the first days.
The main thing I found painful was getting out of bed (I think someone else said that as well). I couldn't sit straight up & had to roll out onto the floor into a crouch. Very elegant!
Also I took painkillers (morphine I think?) straight afterwards, but they just made me throw up - so I gave up on that & decided to live with the pain (which wasn't actually that bad).
Cheers
Emma
I had an emergency setion at 9.50 pm on the Tuesday, was up & about walking the next morning. Out of the hospital on Friday lunch time and was in town pushing my pram on the Saturday morning. the only time I was in pain was the first time I sneezed. I didnt have any catheter problems either. But you do need to remember that you have had a major operation as well as a baby, and you do need to give your self time to recover. My mum cleaned for me for a few days (certainly not 6 weeks) and helped with the laundry etc. I could have done it myself if needs be though, but I was glad of the help. I didnt hoover for a couple of weeks (our hoover is really heavy) and I didnt drive for 6 weeks, but only because my insurance didnt cover you for this amount of time after a section and I didnt want to drive without with the baby in the car. Im sure you will be fine xx