Doper Parents - C-Section?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well, after getting pregnant in March, having a miscarriage in April, and getting pregnant again in May, I am almost at the end of this road. The 'Lil Cricket was due either 2/19, 2/21 or 2/23, depending on which estimate you go by. My Dr. is of the strong opinion that she doesn’t want the baby to go past 41 weeks (and we’re pretty clear on the date of conception - or at least of ovulation - thanks again to Taking Charge of Your Fertility). The thing is, my possibly-just-over-8-pounds (according to an ultrasound last week) daughter (yep, it’s a girl!) hasn’t done any of the stuff she should have done in the last couple of weeks to get ready for birth -she hasn’t descended into my pelvis at all (the Dr. says she’s still “floating”), and my cervix hasn’t effaced, dilated or anything like that either. It’s still high, tight and closed. So, my Dr. has recommended a C-section and that’s what we’re doing on Thursday.

I’m really feeling nervous about this. All the books I’ve been reading go into great detail about labor and delivery, but not about c-sections. I’ve a pretty clear idea of what will happen and when and how (the books do cover that). It’s the after part that I’m wondering about. Just how bad is recovery? How long? Will I be unable to do anything for weeks? I know that everyone’s experience is different, but I’d love to hear from other Dopers who’ve had c-sections. I’ve roamed the pregnancy boards at parentsplace.com and babycenter.com, but I feel much more comfortable here.

Enlighten me! Please?

2

Speaking as only the husband of someone who went through two C-sections, it always struck me that the books pretty much ignored the recovery process from vaginal delivery, as well. My sisters have mentioned that it is not a smooth trip, either.

In any case, what you need to know is that a C-section is major abdominal surgery. You will have a large (although they’ve figured out how to make them smaller), angry wound, which will fade to an angry scar. You will need to do exercises and maybe undergo therapy to get your muscle tone back in shape. You will pass gas a lot (no, I don’t know why!)

Will you be able to do “anything” for weeks? Yes, but there are limits to what you’ll feel like doing, or how long you can do them. Just as if you had a severely sprained ankle.

Frankly, since I’m typing this on Tuesday, I think it’s probably too late to worry about it. So relax and rejopice in your new baby!

3

My son was born via c-section. My wife was up and walking later that day. Unsteady at first, but she seemed to heal rapidly. Laughing and coughing were painful for a few days, but the docs told her to hug a pillow to her abdomen if she had to cough. It seemed to help out.

AFAIK, you can resume “intimate relations” sooner with a c-section. Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for this. Since she got pregnant 5 years ago, she’s still working up to the “once a month whether he needs it or not” level.

Colin’s head was not squashed and cone shaped right after birth, since he did not have to pass through a birth canal. I imagine it’s less stressful on the baby, and I’d guess the doctors can easily identify and have more room to correct any minor problems that may occur.

The incision is made very low on the abdomen, so my wife can still wear a bikini without showing the minimal scar that is left.

I have heard that once you have a c-section, you cannot give birth vaginally again, but I don’t know if that’s a valid statement.

It was funny to watch the women in the maternity ward. You can tell how they gave birth. C-section moms walked a little hunched over, while vaginal birth moms walked with their feet wide apart.

That’s from a guys perspective.

Best of luck to you and your husband. Parenthood is a long, sometimes bumpy road, but the best journey you’ll ever take.

4

I had a c-section in December (a girl!) so this is pretty fresh in my mind:
You will go into a room where they take all your vitals. They will shave you and IV you and such. Your husband (or whoever) is given clothes to wear. You are given a bitter antacid to take. All in all, this time (about 2 hours) is really sureal. It’s gonna be really hard to believe that in a few hours you’ll be a mom. If you are like me, you will be worried and happy and crying.

When the time comes you are wheeled into the OR. You will be sitting down and you will be asked to reach down, as if to touch your toes. You will get a shot or two. They will lay you back down and you start to feel the numbness set in. All around you the docs and nurses are getting ready and again, if you are like me, you’ll still be in tears.
Imagine waiting for santa when you were a kid but a billion times better.

They poke at you to make sure you you are numb. They set up a curtain in front of your breast. At this time you are completely numb except your head. What was going through my head? “ohmygodohmygod…”

when the operation starts, the doc will tell you to expect a tug. I felt one at what I thought was my breast. Next thing I know I hear the doc say “Here she is” and she showed me her head above the curtain. Boy, if you weren’t crying before…
There is a moment of silence that terrifies you…then you hear the wail. All in all, it takes maybe 5 minutes? You will not feel a single thing. No pain at all.

While they do all the baby stuff (apgar, etc) they sew you up. You will be oblivious to it all.

You will be at the hospital for 3-4 days. The surgery wasn’t as bad as my prior surgeries. I think it’s because mainly you have motivation to get better faster! It will hurt, but walk around as soon as you can.

Misc info:

Your baby may be really sleepy the first few days. It’s to be expected because of the medications. They will want you to feed her every 3 hours. If you breastfeed, this may be difficult because the baby is soooo sleepy. The second night may be difficult. I couldn’t get her to eat no matter what I tried. She was fussy and really upset. I finally had them take her to the nursery to feed her. While I do breastfeed, to me having her eat was more important than what she ate at this point. after that, I didn’t have any problems with her at all.

What ever you do, be reeeeeeeally careful aout how you drink things. Coughing (or laughing) will hurt like hell. It will hurt like HELL to cough or laugh for about a month.

They will probably remove your staples before you leave. They will tape you up then. The tape is really hard to take off, when the time comes. Think about it: hair. tape. OUCH!

After a couple of weeks I was doing well. In about a month’s time, you will be all better, for the most part. I used a co-sleeper and it was nice because I didn’t lift her out of bed. I loved the co-sleeper, but it was really hard to crawl around. At times, I think the crawling into bed (around the sleeper) was harder than lifting. When I came home from the hospital, I didn’t have any problem getting around.

Whatever you do, take it easy. Remember that there is no trophy for being the fastest recoverer. It’s really easy, I hear, to hurt yourself at this point by over doing. As a general rule, do not pick anything heavier than your baby, even if you think it’s no problem!

Around 6 weeks, I started to feel a horrible searing pain along the scar on one side. My doctor told me that it was because I was ovulating and my ovary was pushing up against the scar. Truthfully, this was way more pain than anything prior.

hope this helps! Best of luck to you and your family!

5

My ex had 2 natural births and the last was a c-section. I was surprised how beat up she was after it but then realised it is major abdominal surgery.

I would pay close attention to Bad News Baboon’s post and maybe print off a copy or two for husband and other helpers.

You could be lucky but plan for the worst, people should know that you may need lots of help.

6

I’ve had two c-sections. Honestly the main thing is to relax and know that you don’t have to do anything, the doctors will do everything for you. The actual operations were really easy, I don’t even remember them. Afterwards with my first I was scared to stand up completely because I was convinced that my guts were going to fall out. That didn’t happen I’m proud to report but the first time it was hard afterwards. With my second I was up and out of bed before they took my I.V. out. Honestly the sooner you make yourself move the easier it is. The first one took me about a week to recover from but the second one I was feeling pretty good about 8 hours after surgery. Good luck and keep us updated.

7

I’ve had two, one after labor and one planned. The last one was in last April. A planned one is better! The recovery is much easier. All in all, it’s not a bad way to go if things don’t go as they should.

I was in and out of the operating room in about 45 minutes, and was numbed from the ribs down (to contrast with the above experience). They gave me DangerBaby right away, as soon as her lungs were suctioned out.

I was walking around within hours. Going to the bathroom takes awhile. Walking, sitting up, etc–all uncomfortable. You can’t run the vacuum for 6 weeks and can’t drive for 2 weeks.

As for giving birth vaginally after a c-section (VBAC), it was popular for awhile and often goes well. But when it goes badly, it goes very very badly, and so hospitals are becoming very cautious about it. I was not allowed to even consider such a thing, unless labor started about 3 weeks early. Big-city hospitals with lots of resources are more likely to support VBACs.

[TMI] Here’s the stinger about sex afterwards: while your nether bits are entirely intact, your tummy is not and so it takes awhile to be able to do anything fun. Not only that, if you haven’t been through labor and had everything dilate and stretch out the way it’s supposed to, the after-birth hormones still kick in and tighten up all those muscles and tendons and so on. The effect is, essentially, to turn a new mother into a very tight virgin. Ow. [/TMI]

Congratulations and enjoy your new baby!!

8

Have they tried any inducements yet? Prostaglandin gel, Foley bulb, Cytotec? These things are usually used to induce effacement prior to inducing labor with Pitocin. Vaginal delivery is preferable to C-section if it’s possible; my wife had all of these done before her C-section (she still didn’t progress, as the baby didn’t tolerate Pitocin).

That said, the skill and consideration of surgeons varies widely. Some can do amazing incisions that heal with barely a scar, others will leave train tracks. Some will insist on staples, others use absorbable sutures that are stitched so as to leave most of the knots on the inside of the incision, reducing scarring. (Female OB surgeons seem to care more about this, as a rule). My wife was walking gingerly (getting up by herself, etc.) the day of her surgery, on doctor’s orders. Out of the hospital in 3 days, sleeping in our waterbed at 5 weeks. Still very, very poor abdominal muscle tone, and difficult to exercise (but then, she didn’t exercise before).

9

Two emergency Csections here. All in all they were not as bad as I feared them to be beforehand.

I had an epidural both times. I did not feel any of the surgery and I was awake to see my kids after they were cleaned up a bit. Also the epidural doesn’t pass to the baby so there is no sleepy baby afterwards.

Staples came out pain free and I have barely any scar and honestly the only one who sees it besides me is my husband. If he can’t cope with the scar I got bringing our kids into the world then that’s his problem :slight_smile: He thus far says it is not an issue!

Getting up the next morning hurts - a lot. I say next morning because both my sections were very late at night (9pm and 11pm) The nurses were wonderful and I had lots of percosets and that helped a lot. Start slowly and take it easy. Don’t lift anything heavier than your baby until you get the ok.

They vaccuum you out but you still bleed for a few days afterwards.

I had a great nurse and getting catheterized did not hurt at all!

They are very interested in your intestines. You and baby’s first poops are pretty much the weeks highlights. Use a folded towel when you need to go. They will probably put you on colace for a week or so also just to help make sure you don’t have to strain too much with your abdominal muscles.

By two weeks post I was getting around pretty well. By a month I was itching for my six week checkup to arrive so I could get permission to drive again! As stated above sex is awkward and very tight so go slowly and use lube.

Exercise - start slowly and don’t overdo it. One day you will realize that you’ve forgotten all about taking things easy and that you are all back to normal.

My only real bitch is the numb spot. I have a section between my incision and my belly button that was totally numb after each surgery. This is from them cutting through the nerves there. The numbness gets better as the nerves reknit themselves but for me it did not totally go away. It gives me shivers sometimes if something rubs over it the wrong way.

Inductions only really work if the baby is ready to come out anyway. My first section followed an induction but the baby wasn’t engaged. All the contractions did was crush the baby and fold her neck cutting off her oxygen. She went into fetal distress and I went into surgery. She’s fine but that was scary. My son was supposed to be a planned section on Oct 28 but preeclampsia made him an emergency section on Oct 1.

The little tyvek suits mu husband wore were pretty cute!

Oh and when they are cleaning you up they roll you on your side to pull sheets from beneath you. You feel like you are gonna fall right off the table because while you can see the three burly nurses holding you up - you can’t feel them. Quite freaky.

Good luck! Like vaginal births everyone has a different experience. The above sums mine up pretty well. Any questions - I will happily answer. I wish more books told the story of surgical births as more than a paragraph added on at the end!

10

Thanks so much to all who’ve answered so far. It really helps to hear some real-world experiences. I guess I had some idea that I would be laid out flat for three weeks or something. Sounds like recovery isn’t a picnic - but isn’t necessarily THAT bad.

Nametag No, they haven’t tried to induce. My Dr. said basically what Tanookie said - if the baby isn’t ready (moved into position, etc.) then inducement isn’t necessarily going to be successful. My Doc said that if I wanted to try, she was willing to put me in the hospital and try cervidil (sp?), but since the baby is so high (instead of down in my pelvis where she’s supposed to have moved by now), even if it worked, it was likely to be a three-day ordeal of labor. Frankly, I wasn’t happy about either option (c-section or long 3 day labor), but unless she suddenly decides to come out on her own today or tomorrow, I had to choose.

Of course, as stubborn as she is already, I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised if something DID happen before Thursday…

11

I had an emergency c-section 7 months ago. I had a scheduled induction, but was supposed to deliver vaginally. The cord was wrapped around my baby’s neck, though, and his heart rate dropped every time I pushed, so we were whisked off to the operating room.

It was all a bit of a whirlwind for me and I couldn’t believe how fast they got that kid out of there. Seriously, it seemed like minutes from the time the doctor said we were going downstairs to the time they held him up for me to see.

I thought it was funny that they made my husband, who is a physical therapist and goes to watch knee surgeries for fun on his days off, sit down throughout the procedure. He did pretty well, though.

Something they didn’t tell me about until it was about to happen - sometimes when they’re sewing you up, you will feel nauseated. They have their hands in your guts and stuff gets moved around. You may feel a little motion sickness. I actually threw up while they were doing the incision. Not fun. I haven’t heard of anyone else this has happened to, though, so you’ll probably be fine.

If this is your first baby, have the nurse talk to you about breastfeeding before you have the baby. I was groggy on pain medication while they spoke to me and had a hard time focusing on the nurse, much less absorbing what she said. Make sure they do not give a bottle to your baby while you’re in recovery. They did this at my hospital and my bub never did well at breastfeeding.

As far as recovery goes, take it easy and take your pain medication. Don’t try to do more than they say you should. I was walking the halls of the hospital the next morning (he was delivered at 6:11 pm), walking up and down stairs about a week later, and driving two weeks later. The doctor had us wait 6 weeks to have sex and it was fine…we took it pretty easy, though. I just took a look at my scar and I can just barely see it. I do have a little sharp pain in my abdomen, still. I had a doctors appt yesterday and asked him about it. He asked me what activities make it bother me. I told him it only hurts if I press on it. He said to stop pressing on it. :slight_smile: He did say that it was the internal scar still healing and that it would eventually go away.

12

My baby was a lot like yours, ** mcms_cricket**. He was quite comfortable where he was and in no hurry to leave.

I was two weeks past due, the ultrasound suggested over 10 pounds and he was breech. Four doctors tried to turn him (two on each side of my belly), to no avail, so I was scheduled for a c-section that night.

The worst part of the whole thing was that stupid catheter. It hurt a lot when they put it in.

First, I was shaved.

I had a spinal anaesthetic. I had to sit up on the side of the bed and hunch over so that the anaesthetic had a good place to put the needle. As any heavily pregnant woman can testify, this is not an easy thing to do. After they checked to make sure all my bits were numb, they started. I had my arms tied to two boards to the side of me, and my body was strapped down…I looked like Jesus. I didn’t like being tied down at all. I don’t know why they did it…anyone care to enlighten me?

I did feel pressure. It felt like the doctor reached into my body, grabbed my spinal column and gave it a good shake up. Not painful, but a strange feeling. I got a peek at my son’s little leg sticking up out of my belly and kicking around, and then he was out. A few moments to admire him, and then he was off, while I got stitched up. I believe they put me fully under during the stitching up, because it went by very fast, and I woke up really cold.

That was the process, and it wasn’t bad at all.

Recovery wasn’t too bad. I highly recommend getting up as soon as you can. Get a good nap in after your surgery, but try not to let yourself lay around too much. As soon as your dr tells you that you may stand up, you should do it. It hurts at first, but you’ll feel so much better after you move around for a bit. You will not have any abdominal strength to speak of, so you’ll walk around like an old lady. Your back may start to hurt, because when you stand, all the stress is on your back to hold yourself upright.

Do take your gas medication when they give it to you. I didn’t because I thought I wouldn’t need it and I regretted it.

The only really upsetting time is when I had to supply a bowel movement as proof that I was ready to go home and I couldn’t. I couldn’t make my “push” muscles work for the first few days, so laxatives came in very handy.

If the hospital has any sun lamps available, use them on your incision site. This made my belly feel a lot better. It also helped to lay on my back and prop my knees on pillows, so that my legs never bent beyond a 45 degree angle from my torso.

As far as recovery…by the second week, I could get up and down the stairs just fine. By the eighth week I was surfing at Waimanalo again.

Its been nine years and the scar is barely noticeable. At this point, I pretty much have all sensation back in my abdomen.

Good luck, and make sure you tell us how it went!

13

Gee, everyone seems to have this covered, don’t they? A few tidbits:

  1. Compared to vaginal birth, it’s a piece of cake.
  2. My scar is small and practically invisible.
  3. When the nurse goes to remove your staples, do not under any circumstances grab the nurse’s wrist in terror.
14

Hmmm… I don’t know why they strapped you down. I didn’t have that.

One thing I also wanted to say about the epidural. I found it much easier to hunch the second time when I wasn’t having contractions! The first time I was having contractions and they would get all ready and then the contraction would hit and I would move and then we would get all ready again. We finally got it but I was nervous and hurting and overtired from being in labor for 24 hours.

15

Maybe they strapped your arms down in case you started a seizure (or just plain freaking out)? I dunno–while my arms were flung out to either side of me like that, they were not strapped down that I recall. Actually, they may have been for the first one. By the time I got in there, I was barely conscious and shaking from exhaustion, and I do seem to remember something on my arms. But I’m not sure.

16

My wife had our twins delivered via C-section. Originally it was planned, but we had to go in as an emergency because she went into labor and then her platelets and Liver function tests headed south. It was big to-do complete with my wife thrashing on the gurney with her huge belly. I could barely stand it. People were doing this and that and finally the anesthesiologist got everybody into line and got her into the OR.

Unfortunately the epi didn’t take as quickly as they hoped and they had use a general - which meant I couldn’t be in the OR and had to sit it out in the recovery room. I did hear the babies squeal and I was brought in once the babies were cleaned up.

I don’t remember the time very clearly, but she was functioning pretty well after maybe a week or so. I couldn’t keep her down. As others have mentioned, the coughing really hurt.

Oh and speaking of staples, they left one in. They took it out on a follow-up visit.

17

Same thing with my wife, except they wrote “maternal hysteria” on the chart, as well. :smiley:

I was, however, allowed in the OR. They sat me on a stool at the side of the room. I could see what was going on, but not the details. I knew they were working inside of her, but it’s not like I was able to see the same thing the doctor did. I still vividly recall the sound of my son’s birth. A very distinct schlurping sound. I was within inches of him as they were giving the apgar test and cleaning him off. I remember telling him to yell his hello to the world, so I’d know he had strong healthy lungs. It was great.

18

Two C- sections followed by a vaginal birth here.

With Section no. 1 - I was told not to move for 24 hours or so.
Between C-section number 1 and 2 the hospital philosophy changed and I was encouraged to get up, move around, etc. etc. right away after the second. It hurt like hell at first, but the recovery was much, much quicker. So I’d suggest getting up and turning from side to side right away. It will pay off down the road.
For me, the vaginal birth was much, much better. I tired of course, but felt great 4 hours later. Recovery was much faster - something one should expect as having a new born is hard enough without adding recovery from major surgery on top of it.

Every woman’s experience is different - so listen to your body and brush off folks who tell you that you’re supposed to feel a certain way.

19

My wife was expecting a regular natural birth for our son, but after six hours of labor, her doctor said that his head was too big, and he’d have to do a C-section.

My wife was simply terrified – for some reason, she kept cooking up these scenarios of dying on the operating table, and was clutching my hand for dear life as we went into the operating room. They put up a screen between her and her hips, so she couldn’t see what was going on, then started smearing anaesthetic on her belly. After about a minute, she asks me, “When is he going to start cutting?”

I took a peek over the wall, and told her, “They already did.”

Needless to say, it was quick and uneventful. She did have to spend three days in the hospital, but that was standard procedure for them. She was really tired on the first day, but by the end of the second, had most of her strength back. The scar took a while to heal (almost two years), but now it’s a non-issue.

Bottom line: Don’t sweat it. Just give yourself enough time to recuperate, and you’ll be fine.

20

Three c-sections here. The first two emergency, the last planned.

It was amazing how much had changed in the years since I had the first one and the last one. With the first one, I was a week over due when my water broke. I never dilated past a 3, but I was fully effaced. I had 12 hours of pitocin, which was not fun. Then, when the doctor came in and told me they were going to do a c-section. Because I was having contractions, it seemed really hard to be still long enough for them to give me the spinal block. Once they had the needle in my back, I was so relaxed. The surgery went well. The time in the recovery room seemed to last forever. The anesthesia made my face itch. I wanted to get out of there to see my baby. That was in 1995. IIRC, I had to lay flat on my back for something like 12 hours while the medication from the spinal block wore off. In 1997, I had my second child. I was scheduled to have her via c-section on Feb. 25. My water broke Feb 9th. Back to the OR in an emergency setting. I was hemorrhaging , losing lots of blood. It took a lot less time to get prepped for that c-section than either of the other two. After recovery, I think I had to lay flat for around 6 hours. In 2000, when I had my last baby, it was scheduled. I went in to the hospital around 6 am, had baby by 7:20. I was able to get up and walk as soon as my legs were not numb. This is very important. The sooner you get up and move the easier it is. It will hurt, but if it hurts terribly bad, do not continue. It is also very important to take help from anyone who offers. You use your abdominal muscles for everything, you just don’t realize it until they are cut.
Hope everything goes well for you and baby.
When come back, bring pics.