C sections can be very scary to a new soon-to-be mom—and rightfully so! It’s a very invasive surgery that we (or at least I) thought of as a last resort. I just knew I would have a successful vaginal delivery—after all, most women in my family had. I’m one of those people who got told I had good birthing hips (tad gross to hear but whatever). Alas, a vaginal birth was not in the plan for me, but spoiler alert: everything turned out fine. And I hope after reading this blog, you’ll walk away with a sense of peace knowing that if you need a c section, that’s okay!
I’ll start by explaining why I needed a c section—and I’ll keep it brief but possibly write another blog on my entire birthing story later on. I went in for my scheduled induction because my daughter was content and cozy right where she was. In the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I dilated ~1cm on my own. When I got to the hospital I was given two doses of cytotec which is a cervix ripening suppository. The nurses and doctors thought my cervix was pretty thin so they decided to put me on a pitocin drip. After being on the drip for a while, I was only having mild contractions. Eventually, they used a Foley catheter and filled it up almost like a water balloon to try and dilate my cervix because it was not opening on its own. And it worked! Sort of.
My cervix opened up to the size of the foley bulb, about 4.5cm. After that, I stayed on the pitocin drip to try to finish dilating to the full 10cm.
………..
This would never happen.
After laboring for over 30+ hours with no progress, I asked about my options. Basically, a c section was the option. I definitely was intimidated by the idea of it and it wasn’t in my plans. However, I was exhausted, hungry, tired of hurting/being numb, all the things—so I agreed. I was scheduled for 3:00pm on Friday—and had been there since Wednesday.
So I had the procedure but I won’t go into it because this is supposed to be about recovery. Immediately after, I was taken to the recovery room for an hour I think. At this point I wasn’t feeling any pain because the medicine they had given me was still working. I had a belly band on and a suddenly empty womb which felt weird. But my daughter was here and perfect so I didn’t mind.
Throughout the rest of my time at the hospital and for the first week or so of being home, I was pretty uncomfortable. Just being honest. I was constantly holding my incision area any time I moved because I was afraid I would cause it to open again. Luckily I had wonderful nurses there who made my time easier by changing diapers and assisting in any way they could.
When leaving the hospital, ask what they are giving you for pain. They tried to just send me with naproxen and I think Tylenol. But I told them I was still pretty sore and asked for something that could manage pain better—and they obliged. Remember that it doesn’t hurt to ask.
The most challenging part of being home is walking into your house with your husband and baby knowing the nurses aren’t there to help. For me, I was kind of hit with this wave of anxiety. (Turns out I actually had postpartum anxiety.) Aside from the mental, you can expect to be pretty sore for a week and a half to two weeks. REST. This is a time when you absolutely SHOULD do the bare minimum. Let your husband make your food, take naps, sit down, let others help you clean, drink your water, feed and love on your baby.
Take care of yourself and your incision. The last thing you want is an infection. There was some burning and pain on and around my incision which worried me, but this is normal. For the burning, I recommend an ice pack—just don’t put it directly on the incision. This is the one I used. I cleaned my incision every day in the shower, but I did so very (and probably overly) cautiously. I just had some real anxiety over the actual incision and potentially messing it up. Showers are my favorite “me time” normally, but during this short period of my life I did not enjoy them.
I feel like some people are surprised by this, but you will also bleed following a c section just like you would with a vaginal birth. I bled for 6 weeks after having my daughter. Honestly, that may not sound fun at all, but I didn’t mind it. I had a lot of other stuff going on and you will too! My recommendation here is depends adult diapers. Preferably higher waisted ones so they’re not sitting directly on top of the incision.
At the end of the day, be smart and listen to your body. If you feel tired or sore, rest. Hungry, eat. Thirsty, drink something. Do and eat things that promote healing like hearty soups. And don’t let mom guilt creep in—as long as you are taking care of yourself and baby, everything else can wait. 🩷🩵
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