How was your C-section recovery?

[TammyinTN]

I may be needing to have a C-section with my 6th baby. I've never had one before but because I've had two previous shoulder dystocia's I may opt to have one with this baby. My main concern is about recovery. I always leave the hospital 24 hours after I give birth and usually up and about doing normal motherly/wife duties right away. So I'm really wondering how much harder a c-section recovery would be? And, when are you allowed to drive after one? This is really new territory for me and I'm a little scared.

 

 

I had a c-section with our last one..it was pretty painful in the hospital, but the quicker I got up and was walking the better off I was. The first week at home I had family help, the second week dh was home all week. By the third week I was pretty much back to normal, and by week 5 after c-section I was mowing the yard. I think the reason I did so well after week two was the first two weeks I did nothing, but take care of me and baby. Also dh had to leave at week 4 after having him and was gone for 8 weeks to a school so I was diligent in getting rest and eating well and taking care of myself while I had great help.

[Shahrazad]

As you can see, experiences differ a lot between moms. My 1st was a c/s, my 2nd was a natural birth. Personally, I found the c/s recovery rough. I would highly recommend having the painkillers on hand and taking as necessary. I was not trying to be a martyr lol but had an issue getting my rx from the pharmacy when i came home from the hospital which caused me to have to go a day without and it was agony. The recovery was pretty slow for me too, took maybe 2 months for me to feel back to normal. After AF came back, I found that was extremely painful (even moreso than before and I used to have them quite painful) and the reason for that was that I had adhesions. Additionally, I had a reaction to the medication that they give and one of the results of that was that I scratched my face up until it was red and bloody because I could NOT stop itching. It was really embarassing because a lot of people came to visit and I seriously looked like a meth addict or something. One thing I WOULD recommend is to ask to be allowed to go into labor on your own rather than just having a scheduled day. The reason for this is that when your labor starts naturally, the baby is obviously ready to come and it has been shown to improve milk supply because your body has already got the message that baby is coming. I knew I was probably going to have a c/s with my 1st because he was breech and very tangled up in his cord but I went into labor spontaneously and was pretty well progressed before they were able to get me on the table. I was really grateful it happened this way because my supply kicked in wonderfully.

 

My vbac was a dream compared to it. But I don't think the 1st experience was so bad either. You will be OK ;).

[m0mmaBuck]

The recovery from DS's vaginal birth was much easier that the recovery for DD's C-section but neither was terrible. W/ DS, I left the hospital within 12 hrs of his birth and was on my own with him since DH had to go to work. W/ DD, I wasn't allowed (or rather, she wasn't allowed--premie) to leave the hospital for 48 hrs. Being stuck there was torture for me. I can't take narcotics so my only pain meds were ibuprofen and tylenol but that shouldn't be your case. It was 2 wks before I felt OK doing laundry, driving, etc.