Any recommendations/tips for c-section prep and recovery

Hi everyone, I'm a first time mum and currently 36+5.

Went for a growth scan the other day (first scan I've had since 20 weeks) and even though growth is fine I found out my baby is breech despite being told she's head down at every appointment since 28 weeks.

I've opted for a planned C-section as I didn't like the risks with the ECV and the doctor said it's unlikely she'll move herself since it's my first pregnancy.

I'm fine with the idea of changing my birth plan from a natural birth but I'm a bit late to the party of researching post partum stuff for a C-section and anything I should be doing to prepare before hand or things I need to take to the hospital that would be useful specifically for a C-section.

If anyone has any advice, I would very much appreciate it as this change of plan means I'm only 2 weeks away from meeting my baby which is quite scary and I'd planned post partum for a natural birth 😅

Read more on Peanut

The views expressed in community are solely the opinions of participants, and do not reflect those of Peanut.

Learn more about our guidelines.

Add a comment

Super comfy stretchy clothes to start, after a few weeks I liked the wrap support/compression leggings to help with walking.
The worst part for me was trapped wind, so make sure you keep moving to let it pass & some peppermint tea can help.
Just take it super slow & listen to body afterwards. Good luck with everything ☺️

Babies can and do flip even as late as during labour 😊

My second baby was 11lb so huge and flipped at 37+5 x

Get some big comfy knickers that will sit above your scar! Loose clothing at the beginning and stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen as that’ll be what they recommend to continue taking when you’re home for pain relief. My first baby was breech so had a planned section in the end, hope all goes well xx

Hi 🥰I’m a first time Mum as well. My baby was measuring big throughout my whole pregnancy so she was born at 38 weeks.
She was breech for most of my pregnancy and she did turn herself around 36 weeks.
I had a C-Section with her.

I would say when you get home from the hospital and recovering to try and get up even a few steps quite regular. I would find the longer I was sitting down the more painful it was to walk when I did get up. And TMI but don’t hold your pee, go often. 🤣x
Good luck 🥰

This is my 3rd, and all my babies have been breech and c sections! They flip around all the time (this one even did it during my growth scan the other day), so stay hopeful.

I would take a huge water bottle (staff are busy, it makes life easier for everyone), extra long phone charger, slip on shoes (you can't really bend or twist at the waist at first) and fibre rich snacks (the pain relief can constipate you). At home, make sure everything you need is waist height, and people are aware that you will need a lot of physical support at first.

Get up as soon as you can, and keep mobile. It is so, so important. Take your pain relief, don't skip one, or be late taking it. If you wait for pain to set in, it's much harder to get rid of than if you prevent it from hitting in the first place. Plus, if you are in pain, you won't move, and that becomes a vicious cycle that impacts your recovery.

If you laugh, sneeze, cough, etc, have a rolled up towel or pillow ready to press against your scar for support!

in our community

She is here!

When they say trust your intuition and forget about your birth plan...we can attest to both!

I was due on the 14th and had been having early labour simtoms since 39 weeks. We were planning a homebirth with pool and were impatiently waiting for labour to kick in. On Thursday 17th we went to the hospital because baby's movements had reduced and I had started having some contractions and stronger pain than usual. We went to triage and they monitored me, baby's heart rate was OK but she wasn't moving as much. So after waiting a few hours at the hospiral I decided to get checked and I was already dilated and cervix was low and thin. We decided to go home and rest and see if her movements would pick up. By Friday morning she hadn't moved so we went back to the hospital at 6am, they monitored me again and this time her heart rate was acellerated and sometimes it would dip as well. As more people kept coming in and out the room checking the paper out of the monitor I kept thinking "they will push to have a cesarean...please God everything but that!". At 7:00 they start giving me anti nausea tablets "just in case" and putting a canula in "just in case". At 7:30 they tell me we need to move quickly for a c-section.

I was shocked, I had a little cry, but I felt my only option was to trust the doctors and do what was best for our daughter. They were changing me and prepping me as I signed consent, my husband also was changing while paying for parking and following me down the corridor. In 30 min they had already rushed me into the theatre.

I never had surgery in my life so I prayed all the way there and during, holding tight to a rosary as they did the epidural and told me a million information at once. The staff was superb, they all introduced themselves with calm and sweet voices, reassured me, cheered me on, told me I was doing amazing. In the room there were 15 people as shift had just changed so both teams were on. Even though I was absolutely shellshocked I kept a brave face on and told myself "don't think about it, everything will be over soon and this is the way it needs to go". Everything was moving so fast that somehow it didn't give me time to properly feel the fear and weight of what was happening! My husband also was an absolute rock and kept his cool, smiling at me as if this was our plan all along, which helped me stay strong.

The epidural worked almost immediately, and before I could realise how weird it all felt, our daughter Maria Margherita was born Friday at 8:13, weighting 3.47kg. They checked her quickly, had my husband cut the cord and then immediately gave her to me, were she stayed for 3 hours because she immediately fed and the staff felt she was more comfortable on me anyway.

They told us what the issue was: basically she had the cord wrapped around her neck and body because it was super long, and was distressing her when I contracted...so I would have probably had a really long labour and ended up with a c-section anyway after being in pain and exhausted for who knows how long. An absolute blessing I was able to sleep well at home and go in with all my strength and energy without any of the stress and fear I would have felt if I had known how things would have unfolded!

By 8:30 we were in our own room being checked, and by Sat at 13:00 we were both discarged and have been resting at home.

In all fairness it was definitely not our plan, and actually c-section was the one thing I really hoped wouldn't happen...however, by the Grace of God, we have recovered at the speed of light, I'm already off pain medication, up and running, breastfeeding and pumping because I have too much milk, went to the bathroom regurarly without any issues, not using medical pads anymore because I only have some light spotting...so couldn't be recovering faster!

She is also the sweetest and greatest baby we could have hoped for: sleeps 3 hours in the cot (even though I love having her on me), feeds 20 min, sleeps again after a nappy change and barely fusses when midwifes check her.

Again, this is all to say that sometimes the thing you pray would never happen to you and think its the greatest risk, the biggest threat and the longer road to happiness, happens to be really the greatest blessing in disguise! So to all the moms out there who dread medical intervention, I would say it's all valid, but the alternative can also be incredibly rewarding and necessary and beautiful anyway! I was so against a cesarean, that even if they told me how amazingly I would be doing now I would have told them I preferred the pain!! But I have been proven wrong and I'm glad we trusted the doctors and that things went as they did.

Maybe next time I get to use a birthing pool 🤣

Movements

Is it just me, or is the advice about movements just so subjective? I wish there was a more concrete way to track. They talk about reduced movement but recently I’ve been told about too much movement can be a red flag, or movement that’s regular but different so like wiggles instead of kicks. Why is it so stressful! 30 weeks pregnant and just want bubba here safely now!

Early gender scans

Has anyone had an early gender scan before there 20 week scan and did the results match up to your 20 week scan? :)

Baby scan

Had twelve week scan today, baby is due 3rd April. Baby was bouncing round none stop 🤣