Posted by
janos
19 yrs ago
Am due to have my first baby in a few weeks and may be having a caesar. I would love if someone could tell me how long I should expect to take to recover, how long until I can comfortably pick up my baby, move around without pain etc. Would love to hear your stories. Thanks.
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Hi Janos -
had an emergency c-section about a month ago. My father is an OB.gyn and a bit, shall we say, "heartless." 24 hours after the surgery, he told the nurse to take me off the pain drip. (she did.) I could handle the pain. The INITIAL day, immediately after the surgery, the pain was more excruciating. My uterus was contracting, and so that was sort of painful, but the combination of that with the actual surgical pain was incredibly hard. My husband helped combat that first night pain with some accupresure around my ankles which really helped a lot.
I was up and about in under 4 days. Had i not had these spinal headaches (due to a problem with my epidural) i would probably have been up and about in 2 or 3.
After a week, I was carrying my baby and walking around and sitting up with a bit of effort. (It's getting up in the middle of the night that will train your stomach muscles back.)
as a warning, I still have some minor tugs and pulls, but I am fine after a month.
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suze
19 yrs ago
Had my third c section 2 weeks ago. Agree with Joshmomm spent first 12 hours in bed cos of drips and catheter but then up in the morning.Pain relief is given every few hours so there is not pain so much just a real awareness of your tummy if you try to move in a way that pulls it. By day 2 even that was better. I was picking baby up on day 2 and moving around like an old lady but by the time I left the hospital on day 5 could walk fine and pain was minimal in fact didnt take any pain killers once I left. 2 weeks later I feel almost back to normal. Hope this helps.
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Everybody is different. I have had patients who wanted to GO HOME at 48hours , others who were reluctant to even get out of bed. One of the nice things about modern epidural techniques is that we add some long acting medications to the epi after the baby is delivered and you usually are very comfortable for 24 hours, do not need any shots or pain killers. You can enjoy your baby and nurse quite freely.
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i'm a veteran of both natural and c-section.
you don't feel anything - except a bit cold. (exposed legs and the numbing sensation of anasthetic.) the only part you actually "feel" is - when they tug to pull the baby out. My daughter was pretty wedged in there so there was quite a bit of pulling it seems. (that's what the doc told me.) The only way to describe it is tugging - it doesn't hurt but you can feel it in a way.
As far as cutting and all that other stuff - no -and if you're lucky (unlike me) your husband will be there by your side holding your hand reassuring you.
My c-section experience was really bad because I didn't have my husband there. (It's against the policy in Korea) so I went into the surgery alone - and that was horrible.
if you're planning on breastfeeding, I'm happy to say my milk came in at the same rate as it did when I had my natural birth - it took about 4 days after the surgery to get flowing. So that shouldn't be a worry either.
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suze
19 yrs ago
Didnt feel a thing!! Epidural wasnt too pleasant but no pain and I didnt even feel tugging but the anaethetist (sp?) kept talking to me to keep my mind of it!!
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@@
19 yrs ago
I've done both and LOVED the C-section! No problems with the recovery, was up and about 12 hours later, pain free (on voltarin). The actual op was fine, chatted all the way through it, very quick.
It felt like the OB was looking for her keys in the bottom of her handbag and voila out came a baby!
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Hi @@ and joshmomm, did the painkiller Voltaren make you sleepy?
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@@
19 yrs ago
No, Voltarin doesn't make you sleepy.
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addis
19 yrs ago
Had to stay in bed for 12 hours 'coz of the drips, cathether and the numbness caused by the epidural. Not being allowed to eat anything during this time was what I did not like one bit. In all, I was on an empty stomach for a good 24 hours.
To answer Sasha's query, I was blindfolded while I was on the table so I did not see anything. Only heard my little boy's yell (oh! what a relief) and could see him only after I got to my room (after spending one hour in the recovery room).
Have to agree with @@ - you don't really feel anything. Yeah! I was shivering like crazy while the op was on and even after that for about an hour in the recovery room. It took me around 3 weeks to get back to normalcy ie to a stage where the stomach muscles stopped making their presence felt.
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I have a question, did you all opt for C sections over VB or was it due to complications that you were advsised to have C section.
I am having my first and would like to have a VB although am considering my options at the moment.
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Not meaning to be an alarmist or anything, and it may be that I will end up having a c-section, being in a high risk age group, but I'm trying to minimise that risk by using a doctor used to seeing natural birth through to its conclusion, having a midwife present, practicing relaxation techniques and preparing my body through yoga, stretches, squats etc. The thought of having major abdominal surgery is something that's very scary for me and I really hope it never comes to that.
This article has some stats...
http://www.lamaze.org/institute/advancing/docs/elective_cesarean_consequences.pdf
Cheers
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There seem to be good arguments for both options.
My partner said rather tongue-in-cheek to 'opt for Ceasar and save the beaver'. I was appalled and amused both at once! However, it would be nice to have my nether regions intact rather than stretched to oblivion. I don't think fractured hips are a worry for me, as I have finally found a use for my child-bearing variety, lol!
I also am unsettled at the thought of having a C-section as it seems a little like baby-by-appointment these days. Of course, many women have to have a C-section due to complications or risk but I also know a few women who have 'booked' to have their babies delivered out of ease and convenience.
I'm certainly no 'earth mother' type and plan to take as many drugs as they offer me but I'm probably leaning towards VB.
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I'm no earth mother type either (at least I've never thought of myself as one - I'm all corporate suits and love face products, supplementation etc etc), but I've never so much as had even dental surgery, HATE injections, so any invasive procedure is just something I'd rather not have for a long as I can.
I think I'm more a control freak than anything else. I'd like to know that I've done the best I possibly can to stay in control of my body (and have my husband do the same), make informed choices, etc and if after that something has to happen, so be it, but at least I'll have no regrets or what ifs.
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@@
19 yrs ago
Congratulations to the new Mum's to be....
My thoughts are (having had both VB and c-section) is that it mostly should come down to your individual pregnancy.
My opinion would be that the ultimate experience would be to delivery naturally with limited invervention. This would be the ideal for a normal size baby and no other complications.
If however you are having a large baby, which is becoming more and more frequent (over 9lbs first child) I would consider a c-section.
I loved my c-section, it certainly was a much beter experience for me but let's just say my VB was a bit of a disaster!
The interesting part of all of this is frankly - I couldn't care less!!! I have these great kids and both of their births are a distant memory.
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