What do you wish you would have known before your c-section?

[Melaine]

ITA...

Use the gas pills...air actually gets inside you during surgery.

Oh yes, good point. There is SO much gas, yikes. Just be prepared.

[Melbel]

How could I possibly forget this one????

Take probiotics for as long as possible before the CS. The antibiotics that you are given may allow yeast to multiply unchecked leading to thrush. Probiotics will help to build up the good bacteria. If only I had known....

Also, if you are not a good faster like me, ask for the earliest time for your CS so that you will get IV fluids more quickly.

[egoldber]

I have to run, but a few things that were key for me (3 sections, 1 unplanned but not emergency, one emergency, one planned):

- Ask about meds they give that are "standard" but not necessarily for pain. I didn't realize they often give anti-anxiety meds as part of the cocktail. I specifically requested to NOT get this with my planned section because they made me loopy with Sarah, and as a result I remember very little. I HATE that.

- Know yourself and take advice with a grain of salt. I HATE being a "patient" and am much more comfortable in my own clothes ASAP, no catheter, up and out of bed as soon as possible, etc. Others are not. So read people's advice through your own lens, not theirs, IYKWIM.

[belovedgandp]

Vacuuming really does use muscles you don't realize. I felt great and was a good patient for myself and my babies, but tried to vacuum too early. That hurt.

[sste]

A very kind nurse gave me a huge velcro binder thing that I could wrap around my stomach and pelvis for extra support - - I really liked that thing. I don't think you can use it day 1 but I used it pretty soon thereafter.

My hospital brought me into some kind of OR post-recovery room so I didn't really get to see the baby much and was not with him during his first hours of life and didn't nurse right away. This was not the horrifying experience for me it would have been for some (unplanned c-section at 4am and I was not in good shape afterwards) . . . but it wasn't my first choice either. It caused no problems with nursing, though - - if anything our baby was rearing to go at the breast four hours post-delivery! Anyway, I would find out your hospital's procedure.

My arms were strapped down, it did upset me, I don't know if it was required by I was shaking wildly and I know it would have hindered my OB in getting the baby out (and in her perfect, neat little cut and stitching).

Decide in advance if your DH will follow you to post-op if indeed that is an area separate from your baby, hang out with baby in nursery or a combination. In my delivery, baby was in perfect shape, could have cared less who was swaddling him at hour 1 of life whereas I was a wreck, physically and emotionally - - I have to emphasize here that planned is very different from unplanned from what I have heard. DH stuck with me primarily with a few visits to the nursery which was exactly what I wanted. However, I was not in good enough shape to communicate what I wanted to him and I could see how that situation can cause hard feelings if the woman has a strong preference for husband to either stay with her, stay with baby, stay with baby first then her, etc.

[DietCokeLover]

Both of mine were CS - the first emergency, the second planned. I hated having my arms strapped down, but I don't think I had a choice. After first baby, I was so sick and vomitted repeatedly from the anesthesia. I had chills so bad that I was in recovery for 3 hours under 4 sets of heating blankets. Didn't get to see or hold DD for quite a while and I hated that part.

With DS, did not know that it was possible for your epidural to leak. After delivery, I was leaking spinal fluid into my body/ brain because the epidural did not clot. I had to go back to hospital due to OUTRAGEOUS headaches and have a blood patch put in my back (draw blood from arm and insert needle back into back where original epidural was to get blood to clot and seal the hole.) Wish I would have known that could happen.

Also, the hospital was insisting that I have an enema prior to coming in, but thankfully, OB said I did not need to do that. How the expect a 39 week pregnant woman to give herself an enema is unreal! So, if told to have one, question it.

[mikeys_mom]

I've had 2 c/s's. First was scheduled due to baby being breach. Second was unscheduled (attempted VBAC, but ended up with another section).

Some things that I remember being important for me are;

- Listen to your body and don't do more than you can handle afterwards. If something feels achy, or hurts even a little, stop and rest. It is really easy to move around too much when you are feeling good, but you might regret it a few hours later. You will be recovering from major surgery and you need to allow your body time to heal. For me, this was particularly difficult with my second section, as I had DS at home and wanted to give him as much attention as I could. In the end, I just made sure that he was well cared for by others and spent a lot of time just resting when I was not nursing DD. For me, I think it helped make my recovery a bit quicker.

- Don't stop taking pain medication, even if you feel ok. I think I took it for about a week.

- Afterwards, make sure to avoid getting constipated. I drank a lot of prune juice, but I know some people take stool softeners.

- Sneezing, coughing and laughing will hurt.

- Try to avoid going up and down stairs too much.

Good luck!

[mom2aidan]

I've had 2 csections(1 was unplanned and 2nd one was planned). There was a big difference on how I felt on the 2nd one since I knew exactly what to expect.
Here are some information I wish I had known for the first one:
*Ask for anti-nausea medication prior to the csection if you had a history of vomitting when given anesthesia. I was throwing up in the middle of my 1st csection and it was because of the anesthesia. For the 2nd time around, I asked for it beforehand and I didn't have that problem.
*The hardest part is getting up on your feet the first time (which happens the next day). Ask for pain medication an hour or so before you get up.
*I tried to walk and be up as much as I can and it helped me a lot with the recovery. I also rested a lot but whenever I'm awake, I tried to be up and walk on the hospital hallway or even walk to the nursery,

Hope this helps!

I'm looking for helpful tips or heads up that might make my experience easier or less nerve racking. I'm really scared about having a section....and I feel like the more I know about what to expect the more relaxed I feel about it.

[Melbel]

As a clarification on the catheter issue...

I am definitely the type of person who wants the catheter out and to be up and about ASAP. With my last CS, after taking the catheter out about 6 hours post CS, I had the intense sensation of having to go, but not being able to. I made at least 30 urgent trips to the bathroom throughout the night (not easy w/ CS) but could not get anything out. I was literally up the entire night w/o a wink to sleep w/ an urgent "need" to go to the bathroom. Although this had not happened w/ prior CS or back surgeries, I would not push to have my catheter out too quickly again, and would certainly not try it real late in the day. YMMV, but it is included on my list of things that I wish I had known!

[Jenn850]

I wish I would have known that I do not have a high tolerence for pain like I thought I did It is good to remember that it is major surgery, and you should expect pain. We women are strong and can handle it, but it is something to handle.

We got to visit the hospital for a tour before hand and I would suggest doing that if at all possible. That way we got to ask about policy and see where we would be. I think it was printed that the hospital had a no camera policy, but the nurses and doctor said they have never asked a father to put the camera away... so my sweet husband brought his. When they took DD to the side to clean her up he took little movies and ran back and forth between her and me to show me the little movies while they were sewing me back up. I am getting misty just thinking about it. It is scary going in for surgery but the whole thing is such a short time to get such an amazing long lasting reward: your baby!