c section mummies

[joea]

ive been booked in for my first section but given no advice. i was wondering if anyone would be able to answer a few questions.

1/ really want to breastfeed does milk come in the same sort of time as vaginal birth?

2/ how long is the usual hospital stay?

3/ do you have to be careful with pain relieve if you are breastfeeding?

4/ when did you start feeling ok to resume normal mummy duties? I have 3 other kids so quite anxious about this one

5/ do you have to fast before hand?

6/ is it ok to lift and cuddle baby after op?

7/ what does it feel like. Im quite scared

thanks in advance

 

[OmiOmen]

1/ really want to breastfeed does milk come in the same sort of time as vaginal birth? Mine didn't and it was one of many reasons establishing BF'ing was very hard. But I never used formula and hard work/persistence and good support (partner, MW's, lactation consultants, ect.) really does help.

2/ how long is the usual hospital stay? This will depend on your personal recovery and hospital policy. At my hospital I was told the minimum stay was 3 nights and the average is 3-7. I was up and about as soon as they would let me and expressed I was egger to be home and was out after 2 nights. The quicker you are up and walking and showing them you can cope the sooner you will be out.

3/ do you have to be careful with pain relieve if you are breastfeeding? You can still have the drugs while BF'ing. Generally you have to be careful but after major surgery you do need some.

4/ when did you start feeling ok to resume normal mummy duties? I have 3 other kids so quite anxious about this one It really depends on the person. It will depend on how you are healing, how much of a 'get on with it' sort of person you are, and as I learned if you do get on with things and work through the pain you risk overdoing it and doing more harm than good. Frankly, if you already have kids you won't have much choice but to get on with things pretty quickly.

5/ do you have to fast before hand? Yes. They really should have advised you on this and it is shocking no one told you. Normally they will tell you how late you can eat the night before. I would probably ask your MW about this.

6/ is it ok to lift and cuddle baby after op? If all goes well and it is under a local anesthetic it shouldn't be long before you can cuddle him/her. With mine DH held DS1 until I was stitched up and moved to recovery where he was then passed to me.

7/ what does it feel like. Im quite scared Most people say it is like someone doing the washing up inside you. I didn't really think it felt like that but I can't find the words to describe it either. Planed c-sections tend to be done very calmly, I was really scared but everyone was so calm it was hard not to feel a little more relaxed than I expected to about it all. It won't hurt while it is getting done, with a c-section it is the recovery that is the hard part.

Good luck, I hope it all goes well.

 

[Ckelly79]

Hi hun. Breastfeeding I'm told shouldn't be an issue as its to do with the placenta. Hospital stay 2-3 days depending on how you feel. Breastfeeding helpers will give you advice on pain relief while your there. Yes no food after midnight before section. Try not to lift baby for the first day midwives family etc will help. I was up and about looking after my toddler same day as left hospital just have to take it easy.
If u need anything else just ask x

 

[Dani_Ldn]

Check out the c-section group in the pregnancy forums, I asked a lot of the same questions there about my planned upcoming c-section & got a lot of great responses.

 

[iwantabub]

These are the answers I've been given

1/ really want to breastfeed does milk come in the same sort of time as vaginal birth?

Yes... The removal of the placenta is what makes your milk come in ... Not birth


2/ how long is the usual hospital stay?
3-5 days ... I'm asking to leave after 2

3/ do you have to be careful with pain relieve if you are breastfeeding?

They will give u bf safe pain meds

4/ when did you start feeling ok to resume normal mummy duties? I have 3 other kids so quite anxious about this one

Some immediately ... Some a week... Some a month...
Everyone I've asked says fine by the end of the week.


5/ do you have to fast before hand?

Yes from midnight the night before

6/ is it ok to lift and cuddle baby after op?

Yep I'm having immediate skin to skin as I requested it and then u can lift anything as heavy as the baby and there are positions for bfing that can cause u little pressure on the wound

7/ what does it feel like. Im quite scared

Dunno but I can tell u in a week


Good luck

 

[OmiOmen]

Try not to lift baby for the first day midwives family etc will help.

This will depend on your hospital. A MW got very nasty with me when I asked for help late on a night and the only reason I asked for help was because my aesthetic had not worn off and I couldn't full move my legs. At other points the MW's were far too busy to get around to people. I have read about a lot of people who had worse experiences and were left with no help at all too.

 

[joea]

thanks girls. much rather be having normal delivery and feel quite sad about not having the excitment of not knowing the birth date but i guess when baby's here that wont matter so much. on a vain note not to chuffed about adding a scar to my millions of stretchmarks. good luck to anyone else having a csec and i will check out the csec site xxx

 

[LynseyPynsey]

1/ really want to breastfeed does milk come in the same sort of time as vaginal birth?
Mine came in day 2/3 so wasn't too bad.

2/ how long is the usual hospital stay?
I was there 2 nights after the section, they wanted me to stay a third but I said no.

3/ do you have to be careful with pain relieve if you are breastfeeding?
Not that I know of, I was on strong painkillers and breast feeding initially.

4/ when did you start feeling ok to resume normal mummy duties? I have 3 other kids so quite anxious about this one
About 2 weeks PP but everyone's different

5/ do you have to fast before hand?
I had an EMCS so not sure, I think so though.

6/ is it ok to lift and cuddle baby after op?
Yes, they recommend baby is the heaviest thing you lift for a while. Initially you might have to get OH to pass baby to you.

7/ what does it feel like. Im quite scared
I didn't really feel anything.. They describe it as someone doing washing up in your tummy though.

 

[_Lexi_]

I was in hospital for four days, but due to the baby boom my hospital are currently offering some women a 24 hour discharge, and some that have morning c sections are being discharged that evening. When people say get up and walk asap, don't get up too soon. I was up 60 minutes after I left recovery to get to the nicu to be with Joshua. This hindered my recovery and led to very painful, extensive bruising, both internal and external. I would recommend a breast feeding pillow, such as a widgey or boppy. I was hand expressing that day, milk properly came in after 3 days, but I was then given pills to stop it. I had to fast from 10pm the night before, and no fluids after 7am. I felt 'ok' after 2-3 weeks, took 9-10 weeks to feel back to normal, and even now over a year on I still hate clothes near my scar line and have numbness/pain round the scar at times. As soon as Joshua was weighed and checked over, he was passed to me whilst they stitched me up, but I then got the shakes and passed him over. It's not painful, but a little uncomfortable. Felt like I had hands in my throat and could feel pulling/tugging, just a very odd sensation.