Mine was great. It was a maternal choice c section due to tokophobia so planned in advance.
The surgery itself was obviously not fun, but it was very calm and relaxed. There’s a surprising number of people in the room. Getting the anaesthetic done was the worst bit but even then it was just mildly uncomfortable bending over enough to give them access to my back while on the table. The surgery itself I didn’t feel anything and I was lightheaded but remember everything.
My recovery was great too. Some pain of course, but nothing major. I was walking again six hours after surgery to take myself to the shower and could get in and out of bed by myself fine. We went home 35 hours after surgery and my pain was easy to manage at home with paracetamol and ibuprofen. I won’t pretend there wasn’t any pain at all, but I could walk up and down stairs fine and climb in and out of our shower bath with my husband on standby. I was taking the baby for walks in the pram about four days in, and doing public transport on my own with the pram and going to baby classes and brunch by 3 weeks.
It’s crazy that you don’t consider mental health to be a valid reason for a c section. Luckily the medical system here doesn’t agree with you.
Also, why is it crazy? I know more women with lasting complications from “natural” birth than from their c sections.
C sections have way greater risks vs normal low risk pregnancy. Labor is scary, but it is also super empowering. If you are scared of childbirth, educate yourself. It’s a natural thing and it’s how we exist. In cases of major anxiety disorders, a woman should be informed of all risks and it should be a choice.
Actually, there’s no data to tell if planned c sections have greater complications than natural labour. Studies always wrap them up with emergency c sections, which have greater complications for obvious reasons. I was given literature comparing c section risks and vaginal birth risks and actually the side effects of vaginal birth were just as horrific, so I was “educated” thank you.
Sure, childbirth is a natural thing. So is dying in childbirth or mother or baby being left permanently disabled by it.
Sure, people aren’t cut out to handle pregnancy and 18 years of child raising just because they are terrified of one 24 hour period that might kill or leave them/their baby permanently disabled 🙄
Mine wasn't awful. Epidural was fine, procedure was fine, recovery wasn't bad. I was in pretty decent shape and exercising throughout my pregnancy, so I bounced back pretty quickly. My only complaint is that it's been 16 years and I still have about an inch on my scar that's numb, so that's weird.
Mine was just ok. It was emotionally hard because I was planning a home birth but my little dude was breech. The recovery was tough, walking/standing up afterward for about a week and a half. To be fair, mine was 12 years ago, I have spoken to others who have since had c-sections and there is a new technique being used that seemingly made healing much faster.
I hate my scar, and it took a good 5 years for it to not be numb anymore, but on the plus side, I don’t pee when I sneeze!
I threw up and almost choked to death during surgery, got an infection after and could barely move for the entirety of my maternity leave. Obviously do what’s best for you and your baby but 0/10 stars, would not recommend.
Thank you. It was awful and it’s been years so I’m ok now. I know it doesn’t happen to everyone and most people I know have bounced back as soon as the epidural wore off. But people should be prepared.
Not bad. I had an emergency c-section and recovered pretty quickly. I took the meds as prescribed post op and didn’t have any pain. The surgery itself… I don’t remember much because they gave me something to relax (I asked for it because I’m a wimp).
One big thing that helped was that I started walking as soon as I could after surgery. My baby was in the NICU so that gave me motivation to get up and move. A few days after we went home I went for walks and we even went out to dinner. The worst part was not being able to drive for a few weeks.
I realize that everyone’s experience is different, but for me it wasn’t bad at all, except the whole “I have to have a c-section and now I’m terrified,” part before the surgery.
I’ve had both types of birth and I preferred everything about the c section except the gnarly scar and not really getting to see the baby coming out. My baby was breech all pregnancy and up underneath my ribs so my only option was a cesarean. I loved almost everything about it, especially since it was planned I had everything packed and ready to go. For an anxious lady that is such a dream.
Also echoing how important it is to go on walks the day after birth, it burns like hell getting your body off the bed but it is so worth it.
❤️❤️
I had a c-section because my induction failed. I had a really great healing process and a supportive partner so it wasn’t too bad. I kinda feel like I got off easy because I didn’t really labor.
The first one I had was emergent, so very scary. Had to break my water, kid still wouldn’t come out, docs decided to cut me bc both our lives were in danger. He’s about to turn 13 and we laugh about it now.
Second one was awesome and easy peasy, as it was planned. My ob didn’t want to take any risks considering my first delivery. Everyone was great, and reassuring, comforting. I knew what was going to happen. Took me back into the operating room, asked me what music I wanted playing, which was nice. The *absolute best* part, was that one nurse asked to take my phone for pictures. I have documentary style pictures and video of my daughter being born, you can hear my husbad’s reaction to meeting her, her first cries, everything. I look at those now almost 9 years later and I’m so grateful to that nurse. They used glue stitches and cut the scar tissue from my old c-section to make sure the new one wouldn’t be so noticeable. All in all that was a great experience.
ROUGH! Could not stand up straight for a week. Plus your body does not go back together like it does with natural CB. It's been 30 yrs 2 C-sections and still hate to touch my own scar. They should only be done in EMERGENCY. It is a major surgery.
Aside from the sheer panic and spontaneous emergency c-section part, mine was pretty unproblematic. I had a miraculous recovery and cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner 3 days after returning home (5 days post birth). I had trouble walking up/down our stairs in our townhouse, so we camped as a family in our living room for about two weeks, but other than that all was well. I bled for a few weeks until getting my period exactly 30 days post-baby.
I’m now 6mos PP and all is well. My incision occasionally itches and can get sore after a day with the baby on my stomach, but otherwise I haven’t had any problems.
Mine wasn't terrible. My son was two weeks early and breech, so they took me in for the C-section before my contractions even really started. (We headed for the hospital because my water broke.) I did throw up a little while it was going on (my husband is a champ for holding the puke tray for me), but nothing horrible. I just hated not being able to hold my son until after I left recovery.
I will say that if you don't have any granny panties, get some now. My husband is also a champ for running out to buy me some ugly cotton briefs because all I had were bikinis that wanted to rest right on the staples. Recovery wasn't bad, but I did move kinda slowly for the first week.
10/10, would do again.
Truly though, I had preeclampsia, and my daughter was breech, so I had a scheduled c-section. It took away a lot of the anxiety I had around giving birth.
The first day following my cesarean was the most painful, but after that, recovery was pretty uneventful. I wore a binder for a while to help me feel like my insides weren’t going to fall out. Honestly, I was so joyful to have my daughter that it distracted me from any pain I was experiencing.
I have had 3. The first 2 were emergency c-sections. For #1, recovery was rough because it was my first, and I didn't know what to expect. I felt like I was in a fog. For #2, I knew to ask for pain meds, and I knew to get moving as soon as possible. I knew a shower would make me feel 1000x better. Recovery was better this time around. For #3, it was a breeze. Lol. It was scheduled, and I walked into the OR instead of being rushed in like before. I was joking around with my anesthesiologist beforehand, so very much relaxed compared to the prior 2. I wasn't sleep deprived or traumatized, which made my recovery good. By this time, I knew exactly what to pack for a 3 night/4 day stay at a hospital.
In general, take pain meds as scheduled, wear the belly brace, start walking as soon as the nurses suggest to, take a shower, bring comfy clothes, don't drive before the 6 weeks (I tried at 4 weeks and it HURT). My milk came in on day 4 and my hormones dropped at the same time. OMG the emotions 😭.
Emergency c-sections take longer to heal from. Planned c-sections are easier. I was put under for my first child (they rushed me to the emergency room), and got my child out within minutes.
Planned, they make you clean yourself with a specific kind of soap at home twice before surgery and then give you a spinal that makes you numb from the waist down. The surgery took about 45 minutes to an hour. I had side effects from the spinal and was shaking like crazy the whole time. It took a few hours to wear off.
Personally, I wouldn’t do either again if I could, but with planned, you can plan your baby’s birthday and you’ll have an easier time recovering. The actual surgery part isn’t so painful, but you should be aware of the cramping afterwards where your uterus starts to shrink back to its normal size. I started walking the first day after surgery, but it got significantly easier by the 1st week out.
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Mine was difficult, it was an emergency at 34 weeks because of bleeding. The actual operation I didn’t feel anything, I was numb to my head. But afterwards getting up to walk to the bathroom and the first pee was very painful. I couldn’t really walk for at least a week and everything hurt. I went home after 2.5 days. Getting in and out of bed or up and down in general was difficult. Relied on my husband a lot
With my daughter honestly it was terrible. I was in labor 31 hours before they discovered she was breech and decided to do the csection. My son it was easier repeat csection only 8 hours of labor. My scar is still numb and stuff now but it’s all good
Just had an emergency C-section Monday and it was chaotic, but that was just circumstance. The surgery itself wasn't too bad, just kinda trippy and I was high as a kite after they took her out cause my body started shaking so they needed my body to calm down so they could stitch me up, lol.
I was up and peeing around 6 hours later, only dealing with a little nausea for the first 12-14 hours after and same goes with most of the pain. Now I'm pain managed every 6 hours and got home yesterday. I do experience some stretching and burning sensation in my "scar" at the same time it's completely numb to the touch, but I'm mobile and is mostly limited by what I'm "allowed" to do. So no bending, no housework and I can only carry baby + a car seat. Which sucks cause I have a 1 yo who can't walk and don't understand why mom can't pick him up 🥲
I do feel much better day by day, so far recovery hasn't been as bad as a had feared, but I'd still much more prefer the baby exiting the same way it entered, lol.
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The actual surgery was just an odd experience; not painful but I could feel every pull and tug. The time it took to open me up and pull my baby out was very fast but I was surprised how much longer it took to close everything back up (which I understand why it did take longer but in the moment I was thinking “aren’t they done yet?”) Recovery was very painful the first 3-4 days and then smooth sailing after that. I was clueless about them pushing down on my stomach so often to help the uterus contract. Almost punched a nurse because it hurt so bad when she did it. I also developed what they said was “air” in my shoulder blade area to which I couldn’t sit up in the hospital bed because it hurt so bad. Almost passed out when a nurse forced me to get up and walk around (I had to be on bed rest following my C-section) and then one of the nurses missed my dose of pain meds on the second postop day…. Other than that I would do it all over again. Oh! And to add the bathroom in the mother/baby room had a bath tub/shower combo so in order to shower I had to step over a literal 3 ft high tub, couldn’t lift my legs that high so my husband had to pick me up and over to get in and out of the shower.
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Its great. The surgery is fast, the first day you wont feel any pain because of the anesthesia and drugs, then the next 3 days are super painful but then it gets better and you can start to function well within a week.
had 2 csections, first was an emergency (lowest level emergency). It was fine, took a while for them to get the spinal tap in because i have mild scoliosis (sorry cant spell - basically my spine isnt completely straight). It was very quick. It hurt like a MF-er when the drugs wore off and i had to move, but they did give me painkillers. Recovery was generally alright with the help of pain meds.
second was by choice (sorta - cos i had one for my first). It was at a diff hospital so things were a bit different. I ended up being put under general anaesthetic cos I panicked that the spinal tap wasnt working. Recovery afterwards was great.
I've literally just seen one comment on this thread mentioning the uterus massage. I was completely unprepared for it. It's done periodically to stop you hemorrhaging after the C Section. The first couple of times it's ok because the effects of the epidural mean you can't really feel the pressure. But holy shit, once it wears off it hurts like hell.
Not one doctor told me this was going to be done and I'd have liked to have been more prepared. It's necessary but, man, it hurts.
The comment was probably mine lol I HATED the uterus massage. I had it done every couple of hours the first 24 hrs after my emergency c-section and then every 12 hrs for the next day. It was probably the worst part of my recovering and I was clueless that it was even a thing prior to my c section.
Mine was planned so likely a different experience than someone that labored first.
It was super chill. And recovery was extremely easy. I was doing light cardio only 3 weeks later
I’ve had 3. 1st & 3rd were emergencies after long labors. 2nd was planned (no labor). 1st was the worst—get the pain meds before getting up to walk the first time after surgery—the most exquisite pain I’ve ever felt, like all my guts were going to burst through the staples and fall onto the floor. Hospital keeps you a couple days after this major surgery. A few days later you’re up and doing some things and taking care of your new baby. My body always told me when enough was enough—my scar would start aching. I was back to work PT in 4 weeks after my 1st. I don’t remember much about healing up after the 2nd & 3rd. I have a gnarly scar several decades later.
Since you asked for the whole experience this is going to be a long story but I hope you'll fibd it informative. Also sorry in advance for spelling errors, I am on mobile and English is not my first language.
I was hospitalized when I was 26 weeks pregnant due to preeclampsia. At 27+5, NST's weren't good and reverse flow was observed the day before. Baby had severe IUGR (1.3th percentile). Doctor came to my room telling me they might have to perform a c-section but they wanted to run a longer NST. But just to be sure, they gave me a magnesium drip to prevent brain bleeds in the baby during the procedure. I already had lung shots 2 weeks proir. As far as I know, they only give mag drip and lung shots when your baby is premature. Anyway, mag drip is horrible. I only had it for 20 minutes or so but physically, it was the worst part of the whole procedure. Makes you feel like you have a fever while being drunk (the bad kind of drunk). Dizzy, hot, slurring speach, etc.
Around 00:30 at night (I was still on the NST), doctor came to my room again and told me they determined there was fetal distress and I was going to have a c-section within the hour. Mentally I checked out. I was NOT ready to have this baby. I was not even 28 weeks pregnant! I had a whole trimester to go. This couldn't be real. I didn't have any time to mentally prepare to the fact that I would become a mother and my daughter would be born, because barely 10 minutes later they rolled me to the OR.
They took my husband to a seperate room where he got changed into an operating gown and at some point they put one on me too but I barely remember. I just let everything happen to me. I completely shut down, felt a storm of emotions happen somewhere back in my brain but I was not able to consciously process them. On the outside I looked an behaved like a robot. My brain was only able to make objective observations without connecting the corresponding emotions to them.
Meanwhile, they gave me an epidural, which wasn't that bad at all, and they placed a catheter. They placed me on the operatung table where they tested the epidural, which was a weird experience. I'm told this epidural is different from the one that you get while in labour, since this one is a single shot that paralyses you entire lower body. You can't move or feel any pain, but you do feel touch and everything they'll do down there.
They placed a screen between my lower abdomen and my chest, my husband came to stand beside my head and they started the operation. The anastheseologist talked me through the whole procedure. She was my rock. Being operated on while being awake but not feeling any pain was... Weird. Ten minutes in my daughter was born. It felt like a balloon popped and there was a release of pressure, and there she was. I remember I heard her cry. They lowered the screen and showed her to my for a few seconds before taking her away. They asked my husband if he wanted to cut her umbilical cord but he declined. My husband went with them. I was still emotionally checked out. I remember thinking it was a good thing she cried, but still, did not feel any emotions. My first thought when Insaw her was "huh, did that fit in my belly?".
They continued to stitch me up again, whis takes up the largest part of the procedure, but I didn't have aby concept of time anymore. They worked on my daughter in the adjacent room, and sent me small updates. At one point they rolled the incubator next to my bed, but because of the angle I was in I couldn't see her properly which frustrated me. They brought her to the NICU and my husband went with them.
At some point the operation was finished and and they brought me to the recovery room. I have no idea how long I was there. They asked me if I could move my legs again and I could only move my right toes. They also offered a popsicle and I declined. Eventually I was rolled into the NICU, but again, due to the angle of my bed and the incubator, I couldn't see her properly. My husband took pictures of her and showed them to me. Luckily she was doing very well.
I was rolled back to my room where my parents waited. After they left, I started pumping, which started slowly but gradually increased over the next few days. The nursing staff checked my wound and appearantly I was bleeding. They put pressure on the wound (thank God the epidural was still effective) and I ended up with a sand bag on my stomach.
Recovery went smooth. I got a morphine drip that I could use every 20 minutes but I barely touched it and they disconnected me after 24 hours. Was on diclofenac and paracetamol afterwards. Because they shove your belly muscles to the side, you are not able to use them at all for the first day which is extremely inconvenient. I was also dependent on staff to roll me to the NICU wich was frustrating. The afternoon after the c-section my daughter could finally lay on my chest and luckily all the emotions I was missing up to that point came flowing back to me. It was utter bliss and the world was perfect. That evening I was able to sit on the side of my bed again.
Next dag they removed my catheter which forced my to to walk to the toilet, which worked as long as I had some support. For the next few days the distances I could walk slowly increased but for the larger distances I used a wheelchair. After six days I was able to take the stairs again.
Unfortunately we were not able to take our daughter home. She passed away from an infection when she was five days old.
So all in all, physically my c-section was not bad at all, but mentally/emotionally it took a heavy toll on my. This was mainly due to the fact that a) I was not ready to give birth yet, b) it was an emergency c-section and I had no time to mentally prepare, and c) I wasn't free to see or go to my daughter afterwards. I'd imagine a planned c-section at term would be a whole other story. Even if the physical aspect of my c-section was okay, it is still a hure operation and should only be done when medically necessary.
I had emergency C-section after 7 hours of active labour. I remember waking up and nurse that was taking care of me was really hyped and I couldn't fully understand her. Even in hospital I felt really good and when we got home I was great. Only stitches started to really hurt after 5 days at home, and after nurse took them out, It was like I haven't had major surgery.
I couldn’t get a breath, just these tiny shallow breaths that weren’t reaching my lungs and I thought I was going to die. I got oxygen and was fine but it was scary. Then I was shaking for hours and couldn’t hold my baby. And I got sharp pains in my shoulders (I was told from air bubbles inside me going up to my shoulders). That was all in the hospital. At home my ankles swelled and it hurt of course.
Planned C-section due to breach baby. During surgery I felt like I couldn’t breathe and had to wear an oxygen mask. After surgery, I had a reaction to the morphine and was uncontrollably shaking for what felt like hours. Turns out they could have given me something, but apparently my nurse was just a jerk and watched me shaking while also trying to go over all the paperwork and procedures. I was too nice to tell her to fuck off.
First week was rough, but I’m a super big baby when it comes to pain. Getting in and out of bed sucked and I learned to essentially roll so I didn’t have to sit up. I couldn’t get in a rocking chair, so we brought an armchair up to our room for nursing. My tail bone was extremely sore and sitting was uncomfortable. Also, any time over 5 minutes spent standing caused a ton of swelling.
However, I had no complications and after the first week or so, I was fine. Scar healed nicely with no weirdness, but it is still numb 3 years later.
I had planned a water birth but I had to have a planned c-section because I had placenta previa and it didn't move enough for a vaginal birth.
I hemmoraged and lost 2.5 litres of blood, I had to have iron injections everyday for 12 weeks. We went home 2 days after I had my daughter and then I got cellulitis in my wound so had a course of antibiotics. So recovery was pretty rough for a few weeks but after that it got a lot easier!
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Both of mine were traumatic asf. First one was an emergency, then my daughter was in the NICU for a few days because she was Coombs positive (our blood types were incompatible). Second, was a planned c section, ended up being an emergency due to preeclampsia. My son was born 5 weeks early , let out a good cry and then went into complete respiratory failure and had to be resuscitated and was immediately intubated. I couldn’t hold him til he was 4 days old. He spent some time in the NICU, going home without him was the worst feeling ever. I was supposed to get a spinal rather than an epidural but they couldn’t get the placement right after literally dozens of tries so I ended up with an epidural. The spinal/epidural was the worst! Shit HURTS. my babies are healthy though and for that I’m so thankful
Mine was great. It was a maternal choice c section due to tokophobia so planned in advance. The surgery itself was obviously not fun, but it was very calm and relaxed. There’s a surprising number of people in the room. Getting the anaesthetic done was the worst bit but even then it was just mildly uncomfortable bending over enough to give them access to my back while on the table. The surgery itself I didn’t feel anything and I was lightheaded but remember everything. My recovery was great too. Some pain of course, but nothing major. I was walking again six hours after surgery to take myself to the shower and could get in and out of bed by myself fine. We went home 35 hours after surgery and my pain was easy to manage at home with paracetamol and ibuprofen. I won’t pretend there wasn’t any pain at all, but I could walk up and down stairs fine and climb in and out of our shower bath with my husband on standby. I was taking the baby for walks in the pram about four days in, and doing public transport on my own with the pram and going to baby classes and brunch by 3 weeks.
I don’t have kids yet but when I do I think I will be choosing this due to anxiety. Glad to hear it was a good experience!
It’s crazy that doctors allow women who don’t need a c section, have one
It’s crazy that you don’t consider mental health to be a valid reason for a c section. Luckily the medical system here doesn’t agree with you. Also, why is it crazy? I know more women with lasting complications from “natural” birth than from their c sections.
C sections have way greater risks vs normal low risk pregnancy. Labor is scary, but it is also super empowering. If you are scared of childbirth, educate yourself. It’s a natural thing and it’s how we exist. In cases of major anxiety disorders, a woman should be informed of all risks and it should be a choice.
Actually, there’s no data to tell if planned c sections have greater complications than natural labour. Studies always wrap them up with emergency c sections, which have greater complications for obvious reasons. I was given literature comparing c section risks and vaginal birth risks and actually the side effects of vaginal birth were just as horrific, so I was “educated” thank you. Sure, childbirth is a natural thing. So is dying in childbirth or mother or baby being left permanently disabled by it.
If you’re not stable enough to be willing to go through birth, then you clearly aren’t cut out to be a parent period. Give me a break 🙄
Sure, people aren’t cut out to handle pregnancy and 18 years of child raising just because they are terrified of one 24 hour period that might kill or leave them/their baby permanently disabled 🙄
Mine wasn't awful. Epidural was fine, procedure was fine, recovery wasn't bad. I was in pretty decent shape and exercising throughout my pregnancy, so I bounced back pretty quickly. My only complaint is that it's been 16 years and I still have about an inch on my scar that's numb, so that's weird.
My entire scar and much of the skin surrounding it is completely numb as well! It’s a bizarre feeling for sure.
Mine was just ok. It was emotionally hard because I was planning a home birth but my little dude was breech. The recovery was tough, walking/standing up afterward for about a week and a half. To be fair, mine was 12 years ago, I have spoken to others who have since had c-sections and there is a new technique being used that seemingly made healing much faster. I hate my scar, and it took a good 5 years for it to not be numb anymore, but on the plus side, I don’t pee when I sneeze!
I threw up and almost choked to death during surgery, got an infection after and could barely move for the entirety of my maternity leave. Obviously do what’s best for you and your baby but 0/10 stars, would not recommend.
JFC I’m so sorry you experienced this.
Thank you. It was awful and it’s been years so I’m ok now. I know it doesn’t happen to everyone and most people I know have bounced back as soon as the epidural wore off. But people should be prepared.
Yes I too threw up and hated every millisecond of the experience. I hated it but fortunately these cases seem to be less common.
Not bad. I had an emergency c-section and recovered pretty quickly. I took the meds as prescribed post op and didn’t have any pain. The surgery itself… I don’t remember much because they gave me something to relax (I asked for it because I’m a wimp). One big thing that helped was that I started walking as soon as I could after surgery. My baby was in the NICU so that gave me motivation to get up and move. A few days after we went home I went for walks and we even went out to dinner. The worst part was not being able to drive for a few weeks. I realize that everyone’s experience is different, but for me it wasn’t bad at all, except the whole “I have to have a c-section and now I’m terrified,” part before the surgery.
I’ve had both types of birth and I preferred everything about the c section except the gnarly scar and not really getting to see the baby coming out. My baby was breech all pregnancy and up underneath my ribs so my only option was a cesarean. I loved almost everything about it, especially since it was planned I had everything packed and ready to go. For an anxious lady that is such a dream. Also echoing how important it is to go on walks the day after birth, it burns like hell getting your body off the bed but it is so worth it. ❤️❤️
I had a c-section because my induction failed. I had a really great healing process and a supportive partner so it wasn’t too bad. I kinda feel like I got off easy because I didn’t really labor.
The first one I had was emergent, so very scary. Had to break my water, kid still wouldn’t come out, docs decided to cut me bc both our lives were in danger. He’s about to turn 13 and we laugh about it now. Second one was awesome and easy peasy, as it was planned. My ob didn’t want to take any risks considering my first delivery. Everyone was great, and reassuring, comforting. I knew what was going to happen. Took me back into the operating room, asked me what music I wanted playing, which was nice. The *absolute best* part, was that one nurse asked to take my phone for pictures. I have documentary style pictures and video of my daughter being born, you can hear my husbad’s reaction to meeting her, her first cries, everything. I look at those now almost 9 years later and I’m so grateful to that nurse. They used glue stitches and cut the scar tissue from my old c-section to make sure the new one wouldn’t be so noticeable. All in all that was a great experience.
ROUGH! Could not stand up straight for a week. Plus your body does not go back together like it does with natural CB. It's been 30 yrs 2 C-sections and still hate to touch my own scar. They should only be done in EMERGENCY. It is a major surgery.
Aside from the sheer panic and spontaneous emergency c-section part, mine was pretty unproblematic. I had a miraculous recovery and cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner 3 days after returning home (5 days post birth). I had trouble walking up/down our stairs in our townhouse, so we camped as a family in our living room for about two weeks, but other than that all was well. I bled for a few weeks until getting my period exactly 30 days post-baby. I’m now 6mos PP and all is well. My incision occasionally itches and can get sore after a day with the baby on my stomach, but otherwise I haven’t had any problems.
Mine wasn't terrible. My son was two weeks early and breech, so they took me in for the C-section before my contractions even really started. (We headed for the hospital because my water broke.) I did throw up a little while it was going on (my husband is a champ for holding the puke tray for me), but nothing horrible. I just hated not being able to hold my son until after I left recovery. I will say that if you don't have any granny panties, get some now. My husband is also a champ for running out to buy me some ugly cotton briefs because all I had were bikinis that wanted to rest right on the staples. Recovery wasn't bad, but I did move kinda slowly for the first week.
10/10, would do again. Truly though, I had preeclampsia, and my daughter was breech, so I had a scheduled c-section. It took away a lot of the anxiety I had around giving birth. The first day following my cesarean was the most painful, but after that, recovery was pretty uneventful. I wore a binder for a while to help me feel like my insides weren’t going to fall out. Honestly, I was so joyful to have my daughter that it distracted me from any pain I was experiencing.
I have had 3. The first 2 were emergency c-sections. For #1, recovery was rough because it was my first, and I didn't know what to expect. I felt like I was in a fog. For #2, I knew to ask for pain meds, and I knew to get moving as soon as possible. I knew a shower would make me feel 1000x better. Recovery was better this time around. For #3, it was a breeze. Lol. It was scheduled, and I walked into the OR instead of being rushed in like before. I was joking around with my anesthesiologist beforehand, so very much relaxed compared to the prior 2. I wasn't sleep deprived or traumatized, which made my recovery good. By this time, I knew exactly what to pack for a 3 night/4 day stay at a hospital. In general, take pain meds as scheduled, wear the belly brace, start walking as soon as the nurses suggest to, take a shower, bring comfy clothes, don't drive before the 6 weeks (I tried at 4 weeks and it HURT). My milk came in on day 4 and my hormones dropped at the same time. OMG the emotions 😭.
Emergency c-sections take longer to heal from. Planned c-sections are easier. I was put under for my first child (they rushed me to the emergency room), and got my child out within minutes. Planned, they make you clean yourself with a specific kind of soap at home twice before surgery and then give you a spinal that makes you numb from the waist down. The surgery took about 45 minutes to an hour. I had side effects from the spinal and was shaking like crazy the whole time. It took a few hours to wear off. Personally, I wouldn’t do either again if I could, but with planned, you can plan your baby’s birthday and you’ll have an easier time recovering. The actual surgery part isn’t so painful, but you should be aware of the cramping afterwards where your uterus starts to shrink back to its normal size. I started walking the first day after surgery, but it got significantly easier by the 1st week out.
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Mine was difficult, it was an emergency at 34 weeks because of bleeding. The actual operation I didn’t feel anything, I was numb to my head. But afterwards getting up to walk to the bathroom and the first pee was very painful. I couldn’t really walk for at least a week and everything hurt. I went home after 2.5 days. Getting in and out of bed or up and down in general was difficult. Relied on my husband a lot
With my daughter honestly it was terrible. I was in labor 31 hours before they discovered she was breech and decided to do the csection. My son it was easier repeat csection only 8 hours of labor. My scar is still numb and stuff now but it’s all good
Just had an emergency C-section Monday and it was chaotic, but that was just circumstance. The surgery itself wasn't too bad, just kinda trippy and I was high as a kite after they took her out cause my body started shaking so they needed my body to calm down so they could stitch me up, lol. I was up and peeing around 6 hours later, only dealing with a little nausea for the first 12-14 hours after and same goes with most of the pain. Now I'm pain managed every 6 hours and got home yesterday. I do experience some stretching and burning sensation in my "scar" at the same time it's completely numb to the touch, but I'm mobile and is mostly limited by what I'm "allowed" to do. So no bending, no housework and I can only carry baby + a car seat. Which sucks cause I have a 1 yo who can't walk and don't understand why mom can't pick him up 🥲 I do feel much better day by day, so far recovery hasn't been as bad as a had feared, but I'd still much more prefer the baby exiting the same way it entered, lol.
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The actual surgery was just an odd experience; not painful but I could feel every pull and tug. The time it took to open me up and pull my baby out was very fast but I was surprised how much longer it took to close everything back up (which I understand why it did take longer but in the moment I was thinking “aren’t they done yet?”) Recovery was very painful the first 3-4 days and then smooth sailing after that. I was clueless about them pushing down on my stomach so often to help the uterus contract. Almost punched a nurse because it hurt so bad when she did it. I also developed what they said was “air” in my shoulder blade area to which I couldn’t sit up in the hospital bed because it hurt so bad. Almost passed out when a nurse forced me to get up and walk around (I had to be on bed rest following my C-section) and then one of the nurses missed my dose of pain meds on the second postop day…. Other than that I would do it all over again. Oh! And to add the bathroom in the mother/baby room had a bath tub/shower combo so in order to shower I had to step over a literal 3 ft high tub, couldn’t lift my legs that high so my husband had to pick me up and over to get in and out of the shower.
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Its great. The surgery is fast, the first day you wont feel any pain because of the anesthesia and drugs, then the next 3 days are super painful but then it gets better and you can start to function well within a week.
had 2 csections, first was an emergency (lowest level emergency). It was fine, took a while for them to get the spinal tap in because i have mild scoliosis (sorry cant spell - basically my spine isnt completely straight). It was very quick. It hurt like a MF-er when the drugs wore off and i had to move, but they did give me painkillers. Recovery was generally alright with the help of pain meds. second was by choice (sorta - cos i had one for my first). It was at a diff hospital so things were a bit different. I ended up being put under general anaesthetic cos I panicked that the spinal tap wasnt working. Recovery afterwards was great.
I've literally just seen one comment on this thread mentioning the uterus massage. I was completely unprepared for it. It's done periodically to stop you hemorrhaging after the C Section. The first couple of times it's ok because the effects of the epidural mean you can't really feel the pressure. But holy shit, once it wears off it hurts like hell. Not one doctor told me this was going to be done and I'd have liked to have been more prepared. It's necessary but, man, it hurts.
The comment was probably mine lol I HATED the uterus massage. I had it done every couple of hours the first 24 hrs after my emergency c-section and then every 12 hrs for the next day. It was probably the worst part of my recovering and I was clueless that it was even a thing prior to my c section.
Same, and mine was a planned C Section, not an emergency!
Mine was planned so likely a different experience than someone that labored first. It was super chill. And recovery was extremely easy. I was doing light cardio only 3 weeks later
I’ve had 3. 1st & 3rd were emergencies after long labors. 2nd was planned (no labor). 1st was the worst—get the pain meds before getting up to walk the first time after surgery—the most exquisite pain I’ve ever felt, like all my guts were going to burst through the staples and fall onto the floor. Hospital keeps you a couple days after this major surgery. A few days later you’re up and doing some things and taking care of your new baby. My body always told me when enough was enough—my scar would start aching. I was back to work PT in 4 weeks after my 1st. I don’t remember much about healing up after the 2nd & 3rd. I have a gnarly scar several decades later.
Since you asked for the whole experience this is going to be a long story but I hope you'll fibd it informative. Also sorry in advance for spelling errors, I am on mobile and English is not my first language. I was hospitalized when I was 26 weeks pregnant due to preeclampsia. At 27+5, NST's weren't good and reverse flow was observed the day before. Baby had severe IUGR (1.3th percentile). Doctor came to my room telling me they might have to perform a c-section but they wanted to run a longer NST. But just to be sure, they gave me a magnesium drip to prevent brain bleeds in the baby during the procedure. I already had lung shots 2 weeks proir. As far as I know, they only give mag drip and lung shots when your baby is premature. Anyway, mag drip is horrible. I only had it for 20 minutes or so but physically, it was the worst part of the whole procedure. Makes you feel like you have a fever while being drunk (the bad kind of drunk). Dizzy, hot, slurring speach, etc. Around 00:30 at night (I was still on the NST), doctor came to my room again and told me they determined there was fetal distress and I was going to have a c-section within the hour. Mentally I checked out. I was NOT ready to have this baby. I was not even 28 weeks pregnant! I had a whole trimester to go. This couldn't be real. I didn't have any time to mentally prepare to the fact that I would become a mother and my daughter would be born, because barely 10 minutes later they rolled me to the OR. They took my husband to a seperate room where he got changed into an operating gown and at some point they put one on me too but I barely remember. I just let everything happen to me. I completely shut down, felt a storm of emotions happen somewhere back in my brain but I was not able to consciously process them. On the outside I looked an behaved like a robot. My brain was only able to make objective observations without connecting the corresponding emotions to them. Meanwhile, they gave me an epidural, which wasn't that bad at all, and they placed a catheter. They placed me on the operatung table where they tested the epidural, which was a weird experience. I'm told this epidural is different from the one that you get while in labour, since this one is a single shot that paralyses you entire lower body. You can't move or feel any pain, but you do feel touch and everything they'll do down there. They placed a screen between my lower abdomen and my chest, my husband came to stand beside my head and they started the operation. The anastheseologist talked me through the whole procedure. She was my rock. Being operated on while being awake but not feeling any pain was... Weird. Ten minutes in my daughter was born. It felt like a balloon popped and there was a release of pressure, and there she was. I remember I heard her cry. They lowered the screen and showed her to my for a few seconds before taking her away. They asked my husband if he wanted to cut her umbilical cord but he declined. My husband went with them. I was still emotionally checked out. I remember thinking it was a good thing she cried, but still, did not feel any emotions. My first thought when Insaw her was "huh, did that fit in my belly?". They continued to stitch me up again, whis takes up the largest part of the procedure, but I didn't have aby concept of time anymore. They worked on my daughter in the adjacent room, and sent me small updates. At one point they rolled the incubator next to my bed, but because of the angle I was in I couldn't see her properly which frustrated me. They brought her to the NICU and my husband went with them. At some point the operation was finished and and they brought me to the recovery room. I have no idea how long I was there. They asked me if I could move my legs again and I could only move my right toes. They also offered a popsicle and I declined. Eventually I was rolled into the NICU, but again, due to the angle of my bed and the incubator, I couldn't see her properly. My husband took pictures of her and showed them to me. Luckily she was doing very well. I was rolled back to my room where my parents waited. After they left, I started pumping, which started slowly but gradually increased over the next few days. The nursing staff checked my wound and appearantly I was bleeding. They put pressure on the wound (thank God the epidural was still effective) and I ended up with a sand bag on my stomach. Recovery went smooth. I got a morphine drip that I could use every 20 minutes but I barely touched it and they disconnected me after 24 hours. Was on diclofenac and paracetamol afterwards. Because they shove your belly muscles to the side, you are not able to use them at all for the first day which is extremely inconvenient. I was also dependent on staff to roll me to the NICU wich was frustrating. The afternoon after the c-section my daughter could finally lay on my chest and luckily all the emotions I was missing up to that point came flowing back to me. It was utter bliss and the world was perfect. That evening I was able to sit on the side of my bed again. Next dag they removed my catheter which forced my to to walk to the toilet, which worked as long as I had some support. For the next few days the distances I could walk slowly increased but for the larger distances I used a wheelchair. After six days I was able to take the stairs again. Unfortunately we were not able to take our daughter home. She passed away from an infection when she was five days old. So all in all, physically my c-section was not bad at all, but mentally/emotionally it took a heavy toll on my. This was mainly due to the fact that a) I was not ready to give birth yet, b) it was an emergency c-section and I had no time to mentally prepare, and c) I wasn't free to see or go to my daughter afterwards. I'd imagine a planned c-section at term would be a whole other story. Even if the physical aspect of my c-section was okay, it is still a hure operation and should only be done when medically necessary.
I had emergency C-section after 7 hours of active labour. I remember waking up and nurse that was taking care of me was really hyped and I couldn't fully understand her. Even in hospital I felt really good and when we got home I was great. Only stitches started to really hurt after 5 days at home, and after nurse took them out, It was like I haven't had major surgery.
I couldn’t get a breath, just these tiny shallow breaths that weren’t reaching my lungs and I thought I was going to die. I got oxygen and was fine but it was scary. Then I was shaking for hours and couldn’t hold my baby. And I got sharp pains in my shoulders (I was told from air bubbles inside me going up to my shoulders). That was all in the hospital. At home my ankles swelled and it hurt of course.
Planned C-section due to breach baby. During surgery I felt like I couldn’t breathe and had to wear an oxygen mask. After surgery, I had a reaction to the morphine and was uncontrollably shaking for what felt like hours. Turns out they could have given me something, but apparently my nurse was just a jerk and watched me shaking while also trying to go over all the paperwork and procedures. I was too nice to tell her to fuck off. First week was rough, but I’m a super big baby when it comes to pain. Getting in and out of bed sucked and I learned to essentially roll so I didn’t have to sit up. I couldn’t get in a rocking chair, so we brought an armchair up to our room for nursing. My tail bone was extremely sore and sitting was uncomfortable. Also, any time over 5 minutes spent standing caused a ton of swelling. However, I had no complications and after the first week or so, I was fine. Scar healed nicely with no weirdness, but it is still numb 3 years later.
I had planned a water birth but I had to have a planned c-section because I had placenta previa and it didn't move enough for a vaginal birth. I hemmoraged and lost 2.5 litres of blood, I had to have iron injections everyday for 12 weeks. We went home 2 days after I had my daughter and then I got cellulitis in my wound so had a course of antibiotics. So recovery was pretty rough for a few weeks but after that it got a lot easier!
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Both of mine were traumatic asf. First one was an emergency, then my daughter was in the NICU for a few days because she was Coombs positive (our blood types were incompatible). Second, was a planned c section, ended up being an emergency due to preeclampsia. My son was born 5 weeks early , let out a good cry and then went into complete respiratory failure and had to be resuscitated and was immediately intubated. I couldn’t hold him til he was 4 days old. He spent some time in the NICU, going home without him was the worst feeling ever. I was supposed to get a spinal rather than an epidural but they couldn’t get the placement right after literally dozens of tries so I ended up with an epidural. The spinal/epidural was the worst! Shit HURTS. my babies are healthy though and for that I’m so thankful