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Tips to Make Recovery from Ceasarean Section Easier |
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by Izzy  (June 2006) (rank 8th) |
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Ceasarean sections are becoming more and more common nowadays, so it will be to your advantage to learn all you can.
I went into labor on my own, which lasted 18 hours. Three hours of this labor was pushing, but I still wasn't able to get my son out
so I had a c-section. Though I was unprepared for this major operation, my recovery was not as bad as some. I had a spinal block and was not at all groggy after the surgery so I was able to bond with my son right away (he was brought back to me an hour after I was brought back to my room). After the anaesthesia had worn off, I was on Percacet and high dose Motrin. The Percacet and Motrin lasted between 4-5 hours, in my experience. What kind of pain management you're on will highly depend on your doctor and the hospital.
Here are some tips that worked for me:
- DO NOT wait for your medication to completely wear off before you take your next dose. Once the pain comes back, it will be a very short time before it comes back full force and you will regret it. I was on narcotics for about 3-4 days. After that, the Motrin worked just fine.
- BE CAREFUL when handling your baby while on medication. Narcotics can make you loopy, so keep this in mind. Be especially careful when you go up and down the stairs.
- DO NOT CONFINE YOURSELF TO BED. Ceasarean section is a major abdominal surgery and like all surgery, there is a risk of blood clots. By walking around once in a while, you can help prevent blood clots from blocking blood vessels.
- DO NOT OVERWORK yourself. After a c-section, the only thing you have to worry about is yourself and your baby. Do not do the laundry, or do the dishes, or do any housework!
- DON'T LIFT ANYTHING HEAVIER THAN YOUR BABY.
- DRINK PLENTY OF FLUID!! You will be faced with a terrible constipation, so do yourself a favor and drink outrageous amounts of fluids. Trust me, I suffered from constipation that lasted 5 days after my surgery and it wasn't fun.
- HAVE YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER STAY HOME FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. If you do not have any family or friends helping you out, you will need your significant other around for a whole week. Let him take care of everything else, and most importantly, you.
- ASK FOR HELP. If you do have friends and family around that offers help, TAKE IT! Even if it's just to cook you meals, it will help tremendously.
- INSPECT YOUR INCISION. If it's hard for you to look down in order to inspect your incision, get a mirror. Or you can have your significant other do it for you. If there is any kind of puss, call your doctor.
- KEEP THE INCISION AREA DRY. Place a maxi pad over the incision to draw moisture away. The maxi pad will also help the elastic of the underwear from rubbing against it.
- HELP IN THE SHOWER. It will be hard to bend and twist, so it'll be helpful for someone to be with you to help you with whatever you need in the shower.
- DO NOT FORGET TO CLEAN THE INCISION. While you're in the shower, don't forget to wash the incision area. You do not need to over do it, just gently wipe with a wash cloth.
- AVOID THE STAIRS. When you go down in the morning, make sure you have everything you need with you so that you do not need to go up and down repeatedly throughout the day. If you have someone in the home with you, make sure you ask them to retrieve things for you. Though it was never painful for me to go up and down the stairs, it did take a very very long time.
- SET BABY'S THINGS BOTH DOWNSTAIRS AND UPSTAIRS. This will make things easier for you, especially when you try to go it alone.
- TAKE PLENTY OF NAPS. Your body does most of it's repairs while you're asleep. So don't skip on naps.
- NO VISITORS FOR THE FIRST WEEK, OR EVEN TWO. You will be exhausted so this is not a good time to entertain visitors. If you are afraid of hurting people's feelings, simply tell them that they can visit and see the baby after 1 or 2 weeks.
- NUMBNESS AROUND THE INCISION IS NORMAL. This numbess can actually last as much as 6 months and is normal.
By the 2nd week you will be able to handle things on your own, though if help is still available, TAKE IT! It will be uncomfortable to sit and stand up for the first two weeks, but as I have mentioned above, if you keep your medication up there should not be significant pain. After the 2nd week, things should be very much improved, though you may still find yourself taking it slow when sitting down.
Copyright © 2007, username: Izzy @ www.minti.com. All rights in all media reserved. The content of this article may be forwarded in full without special permission provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full attribution and copyright notice are given.
