Cesarean Section question?

I've already asked my doctor most of the questions I have about a c-section, so this question is to get a general idea about how long healing after a c-section takes. How long did it take you to be able to do regular activities again, like play with your toddler or even to get up and cook dinner? What have you done for your scar, and does it show very much? Were you in a lot of pain afterwards? I've had one person tell me she was up and about within a week living her normal life, and another say she was laid out on the couch for a month afterwards! What was your experience like, and what (in your opinion) did you do that helped you to heal faster?

Thank You! And no, this is not my option for the c-section, the baby is breech so I have no choice.

Healing is different in every woman of course. Normally it takes about a month to fully recover to do normal things like play with the baby, cook, clean, etc. It depends on if you take all the doctors advice on how to clean, take care of, etc. You need to make sure you are not over working yourself too early. Also, a huge factor is if you take care of yourself already or before you got pregnant. For instance a woman who worked out a lot and ate healthy and who is an average weight will recover faster then one who doesnt take as good of care of herself and who isnt active at all or overweight. I wouldnt really worry too much...be happy to have a little break right after the baby because once your up and moving around that baby is your world! No more pieceful naps and baths ;) but, children are wonderful and I have faith you will recover just fine!

The surgery itself was fine. you feel alot ofpressure but no pain. Afterwards, it hurt like hell. I couldn't bend around to wipe myself after using the bathroom! I had to get a loved one to do it. It even hurt to laugh,cough, or sneeze for that first week. We just don't realize how many things work our stomach muscles! After 2 weeks it was bearable but then it starts to itch where they cut you at. For the first month i did not go up and down stairs. i stayed on one floor. I say, after 3 months I felt normal again. It makes me tense just to think about it, but you know what? It was worth it.

Every person is different....I had 3 c-sections due to fetal distress. The first one I had, I was in the hospital for 7 days, and it was a good month before I physically felt good enough to resume my normal living. The same went for my second birth. However, my 3rd c-section, I had it on Friday and went home that same Sunday feeling as though I didn't even have the procedure done. As far as the pain goes, everybodys tolerance level is different. Don't get me wrong..you will be very sore when you wake up & the anesthesia wears off, but its not the worst thing in life you'll experience. Good luck

If it is scheduled, it should be much easier than going through labor first.

Remember a c-section is MAJOR surgery. It will take time to recover.

The sooner you can get up and around, the better. Each time you get up, it gets easier.

At first (for me) it was SO HARD to move. Even just putting my legs over the side of the bed was killing me.

Keep the scar dry and clean b/c you do not want an infection. You could end up back in the hospital.

Take it easy. If you try to over do it, it will take longer to recover.

Avoid drinking from straws b/c it give you more gas. Try to prepare by eating really well - lots of healthy food. Especially vitamin C (it is responsable for healing wounds). The healthier you are before, the easier it will be afterwords.

Red Raspberry Leaf tea or capsules would be helpful also.

i had a c section and was up and walking around OK the next day, as they make you do it. but you need to do it so that you heal properly. it's a *****, but gotta do it. after about 1 week i was feeling much better. the first day after the C was the worst, with every day getting better, although marginally. when they remove the catheter after 24 hrs of the surgery, you have to "wake up" your bladder. meaning, it's really hard to pee for a while. you feel like you have to pee but you can't. then, to make the pressure worse, if you don't pee within a certain period of time they have to re-inser the cath. it took a couple of weeks before i felt like my peeing was feeling normal. i was concerned something may be wrong b/c i could always feel my bladder when i peed. but all is back to normal now. showering and moving around the very next day was death to me. i hated it with every ounce of my being. i won't lie to you. after about 3 weeks, i felt so much better that i felt like getting on my hands and knees to wash the kitchen floor. big mistake. i had some pain and had to go and see my doctor to make sure I had not given my self a hernia. but i was not laid up on the couch unable to do anything. i would say the first week is yucky. Oh, and your ankles may swell a few days after the surgery - you will look like elephant ankles. this is because all the fluids that were in your abdomin are draining out and due to gravity they go downward. I slept everynight on my back with my legs elevated as high as i could get them and it took about a good week for this sympton to go away. i pushed sex off til about 8 weeks. it hurt like i was a virgin again. my scar has some keloids, or whatever they are called. it is below the bikini line. since i am pregnant again they will remove the scar and this time sew my up so i don't develop keloids (just a thick scar - like the size of string). overall, healing just takes time. very important - really do not push your self for AT LEAST 6 weeks. you need the fascia muscles in your stomach to heal or else you could give yourself a hernia and that's NOT what you want. good luck!!

i had a c-section and i was in pain in the hospital. it was hard for me to move from one side of the bed to another. and to get up to the restroom oh man was i in pain. but the more u walk the easier it is when u get home. now relax for about a month before u get running with regular chores relax with ur baby or by yourself. because u don't want ur scar to open. it's happened to people i know.

I was in the hospital for a week after my c-section, but when I got home I was fine. While in the hospital, they make you get up and walk... which is good for you. You cough or laugh with a pillow over your stomach and that helps.

The doctor gives you a list of things not to do, like heavy lifting, but other than that everything was pretty easy.

Well I had 2 c-sections i left the hospital the next day after the c-section and the fist 3 days you hurt and is bad but then it goes away, and by the end of the week i was up and down stairs, and taking full care of my family , the scar is not noticeble is just a hair line, the pain i used warm water in ziplock bags and that make the back pain less, but no we are not all alike so I hope you feel good sooner than me.