Probably been asked many times before!

You can’t eat 24 hours before the surgery which is vv sad lol. Disposable underwear is a must. Stock up on painkillers. I needed to drink water constantly. Hire a cleaner to do a deep clean before you go in for the op. You and your partner will thank me later. Good luck mama x

Still quite early for them to discuss with you. They don’t usually talk about birth till I believe 36-37 weeks. Probably will have it closer to 39 weeks when you’ll be informed as you’ll have to sign consent, meet the anaesthetist, have bloods taken etc.

A lot of the information you need is necessary for when you’re close to having the surgery- such as fasting, washing in anti-bacterial soap, taking certain medications.

In terms of preparation for yourself following a c-section I’d follow these ladies on Tik Tok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@the360mama?_r=1&_t=ZN-96D9fRs85Qs

Take a pillow to pop between your belly and seat belt for the car journey home! Take all the help you can and rest up when you get home!!!

I also had cooling/healing spray for my scar it helped massively!

You’ll be fine💗

I had an emergency c section so a bit different. They asked me what I had eaten and drunk. I said the last thing I ate was a biscuit and a cup of tea about 3 hours prior. The consultant went yeah thats fine. Sign this take this see you in there. Took thr antisickness signed the waver and got rolled in.

You sit on the edge of the theatre bed and sit and far forward as you possibly can. They put the spinal in. Its a bee sting. Your feet feel warm. And you go numb fast. They help you on the table. Staff will check your wrist band, and they checked i was numb with cold spray. They asked my permission to put a catheter in which I didnt feel. They shaved me a little again asked my permission. Blue screen went up and seconds later baby was lifted up. The long bit is them sewing you up. You hear suctioning and you feel like someone's using you like a bag to find keys but its not bad. Weird, but not bad

No pre op advice as mine was emergency 😬
Post op advice would be to sleep elevated because trying to get up from laying flat is like an Olympic sport! If you can, try and move around regularly.
I also highly recommend Amazon own brand incontinence pants. They’re super stretchy and comfy on the stomach so you won’t feel it on the incision area.

Things I didn’t know before going in for mine:

• The operating room is really cold!

• You may get shakes from the spinal, it’s normal and will wear off within a couple of hours.

• The “rummaging around inside you” feeling was more intense than I expected, but not at all painful or uncomfortable. Just a very strange sensation!

I highly recommend getting a bed assist rail for recovery at home, as getting out of bed can be difficult and it gives you something to pull against. Mine was about £30 from Amazon. Best thing ever!

I had a morning appointment so I wasn’t allowed to eat from dinner time the night before. I went in, they do your vitals and then they come in and talk to you about how they will numb you and what painkillers you want directly after the surgery. They were very calm and reassuring for me and talked me through everything. I had to sign paperwork to consent to the surgery also. You get changed into a gown and stockings then you wait to be taken down.
I’ve had an emergency and an elective section and can honestly say they were both totally fine and I felt at ease once I was on the table. Take it easy afterwards and keep up with your painkillers, even if you feel like you don’t need them. Roll, don’t try and just sit straight up as it’s impossible 😂 keep your scar clean, move about so you don’t get stiff. Stay hydrated. Disposable pants are great for the first few days too ☺️