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C-section RecoveryRecovering from any major abdominal surgery can be challenging, and c-section recovery is even more challenging by the added presence of a newborn. Here is what you can expect during your recovery: C-section recovery immediately after the surgery You will be wheeled from the operating room to a recovery room as soon as the surgery is complete. If you had regional anesthesia (epidural or spinal), it will take 2-4 hours before you start regaining some ability to move your legs and feet. If you had general anesthesia, you may go in and out of sleep, and may feel nauseated. In both cases, yoU'll be covered well because most women report feeling very cold and shaky after the surgery. This seems to be an effect of the painkilling medications used. While under observation, they will be monitoring your vital signs and the amount that you bleed. As the pain medication leaves your system, you will start feeling uterine cramps and pain from the incision site. C-section recovery in the first days after surgery Once you are out of recovery, and in your own room, try to start moving your body as early as possible. You may not be able to do much lying down, but you can try to wriggle your toes, move your legs, and take deep breaths. You'll be surprised to feel how much like exercise that feels. You will still have your IV line and your catheter in place for at least some of the first 24 hours after surgery, depending on the hospital's practices. About six hours after your surgery, hospital staff will come along to help you get up off your bed. At first, this will be extremely painful and you may find that you are unable to walk upright, and have to bend over. Holding a pillow over your incision site may help. Ask for pain medication. It is more important that you be able to move around after surgery than to avoid the pain medication. The more regularly active you are, the faster your c-section recovery will be. Definitely ask for help from hospital staff, family or your doula to help you with baby care during the first few days. Most women are unable to bear the weight of their baby in the first day after surgery, so it is important to have someone who can pick up the baby, change diapers, and help you breastfeed. Rest a lot, but also make sure you get up and move about regularly, if only for a few shuffling steps, but do not overexert yourself. Breastfeeding after a c-section A c-section can make breastfeeding more challenging in several ways:
C-section recovery at home If all goes well, you will spend only a few days at the hospital, after which you will be discharged home. Homes present new challenges. Everything is farther away, and there is no staff to bring you meals to your bed anymore. Stairs present a particular problem, and in fact should be avoided as much as possible in the early weeks. Try to create a space for yourself in your home where all your needs can be met: somewhere close to where you sleep, where you get food, where you get your clothes and supplies, and where you get your baby's supplies. You'll be grateful in the first weeks not to have to go very far. Do not expect yourself to do any sort of housework. Make sure you have someone else lined up for cooking, cleaning, and minding your older children if you have them. C-section recovery and bleeding You will bleed just as much as if you had had a vaginal delivery. The reason for this is that the bleeding comes from the site where the placenta used to be attached inside the uterus. As this site heals, your flow will turn from bright red menstrual blood in the first weeks to a lighter flow, then to translucent and kind of stinky. This is normal. C-section recovery and the scar Look at your incision. The first day after surgery, it'll be covered by a bandage, and some women have some drains put in place to prevent fluids from collecting on the inside. There are different types of incisions on the outside and on the inside, so be sure to ask your doctor who did the surgery which kind of incisions he or she used. This may be important for your future deliveries. Click here to read more about c-section scars. Emotional recovery after a c-section Emotional reactions to having a cesarean birth are as varied as there are women. Some women feel perfectly all right having had a c-section, whether it was elective or an emergency cesarean. If you are okay with your surgery, it may be difficult to avoid the message from your surroundings that you should be more upset. There are plenty of things causing stress for new parents, so if your surgery is not one of them, don't let yourself be pushed into feeling bad. On the other hand, it is also perfectly normal to feel cheated by a surgical birth. You may be upset by not having a vaginal delivery, or by not being able to experience labor. You may be upset by the breastfeeding difficulties, or the painful recovery. You may be upset by having been cut into. Don't worry - you are not alone. Click here for a list of resources if you are finding c-section recovery difficult emotionally. Postpartum depression and c-section recovery While there is no definitel correlation between having a c-section and postpartum depression, there is a correlation between having had recent trauma and depression. So if you experienced your birth as traumatic, that may well put you at risk for postpartum depression.
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