Recovery from c section

Honestly if you don’t medically need it, i would not have elected to have had major abdominal surgery. With that said i feel like ive had a fairly easy recovery. Yes it hurts getting in and out, bending, anything with core because they cut through that. The only reason it was bearable was because i had the belly binder on extremely tight and i was taking Tylenol and ibuprofen around the clock.

For the first 10-14 days you’ll find your self sleeping more upright, just for comfort really! Moving little and often as soon as you can helps, my elective C-section was magical the most beautiful experience, I can’t fault it, it’s good to get advice from people but I wouldn’t let other peoples stories make your own :) I’ve had a cat 1 emergency and an elective and both were absolutely fine xx

I had an emergency c-section, if I had any control over it then I would have preferred not to have one. I had a positive experience but it is major surgery so you should consider the help you will have after birth. You are in pain for at least 2 weeks but I felt it took me at least 8 weeks to fully recover. It is quite painful afterwards to do pretty much anything that involves moving your torso, the only thing you should do is look after your baby, nothing else. I am unable to take Ibuprofen or Codine due to other reasons so I was surviving on only Paracetamol.

Thats my main worry with a csection: the recovery.. I will have a one year old when I have my first csection and I’m worried about being able to care for him as I want to xx

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's true people experience these things differently and depend on lots of factors. I have been trying to get as much information as possible to hopefully help my decision but we'll see what happens at the end. I just really hope to have an overall good experience with the birth as that's been my worry. Thank you

Honestly for weeks I slept sitting up as the pain from trying to sit up or turn over etc was too much even with pain killers. Even sitting down on the sofa hurt. But then again everyone’s pain threshold is completely different and some women recover a lot quicker. You just have to remember it’s major surgery, going through about 7 layers plus pulling your ab muscles apart, it’s not going to be pain free even with painkillers. I had a cat 1 emergency c section with my first and recovery was very tough, I’d end up sitting there crying, partly because I was in pain but partly because I was frustrated that I couldn’t do the most simple things. However, I’m still opting to have an elective with my second in August mainly because of the mental toll it took on me last time.

I had an elective c section due to anxiety over giving birth and honestly, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. The whole experience was incredible and I would do it again tomorrow. I found recovery not too bad - the first few days I did have pain, but nothing major and the painkillers did help. But after that, it was more just some discomfort when getting in and out of bed and up and down stairs but again that was manageable and I was driving again after two weeks. I would just say, make sure you are well informed on all options and do what you feel most comfortable with, not what others tell you is best.

I never felt any more pain than bad period cramps tbh. I was on good meds and very mobile from the start x

I was absolutely fine tbf. I was up and walking about with the pain meds first day - it was sore but I found the more I moved the easier it was. Second day I didn’t even need meds. With that being said it’s all different for everyone x

Keep on top of your pain relief it will be hard but not impossible it's important to have help. It's good to get out of bed at the earliest you can, being mobile will help you heal, I find most of my pain is when I've been still for a while, I'm day 6 and I've ditched the medication for the most part today and other than occasionally I'm OK so long as the housework is quick and no bending I'm currently back doing it, my partner is doing whatever is left . Plan for long term help and if you recover quickly you can reduce it

I got an elective C-section coz of a recent-ish L4-L5 disc surgery. Movement was about medium painful for the first 24 hours. I used all the back surgery protocols for sitting, turning over, and standing (log rolling, spreading my legs and using a sort of squat to stand (Look up back surgery recovery protocols) I was scared to death about getting my stomach muscles cut coz then the spine has to do all the hard support work and mine was in a delicate condition after carrying all that baby weight.

But it was surprisingly okay. I had a special chair for showering and a kinda raised chair that fits over the toilet so that I did not have to bend too much.

Hope this helps. Good luck with everything! Stay strong, whatever route you decide.

Honestly I think everyone is different in terms of recovery. I found the first week incredibly difficult. For mobilising, picking up baby, getting dressed, getting up/down etc I needed help from my partner & mum who stayed with us for the initial few days. After that it got a lot better in terms of pain & by 2 weeks post I was mobilising normally. I'm now nearly 6 months post & have a lot of sensitivity around the scar & numbness & pain in my area above it. It's all just very sensitive & I can't put lots of pressure on that area or it feels uncomfy. I also have some back pain that is ongoing that I think could be related to the spinal as it's central in my back x

I had an emergency c-section and was surprised at how less painful it was than I thought - although everyone is different! For me it felt like I’d pulled a muscle across my tummy at the gym (not that I go to the gym 🤣) - similar to that sort of soreness. I was careful and spent 5 days resting, only getting up for the loo etc, which helped. I stopped taking regular codeine on day 5/6. I had to turn onto my side slowly so I could get out of bed. Hope that helps x

Honestly don’t do it unless you need too. I would say it took me around 6-8 weeks to be able to get out of bed properly. Your abdominal muscles do not work and it’s so difficult to do simple tasks. 2 years on now and I’m still numb 😊

this is my biggest concern

Honestly I've had worse colds. Mine was an elective and there is generally a massive difference in recovery. I've honestly no idea if I've some damaged nerves or not but I was fine, I took paracetamol and diclofenac for a week or two and that was me. I was up walking and driving fine. I'm going to have an elective for my 2md and hope it works out just as good. I agree it felt more like a pulled muscle than anything else but I was getting out of bed fine and slept on my side the 2nd night. Just do things slower and take your time but for me it was a brilliant experience