Enhanced recovery after c-section, any experiences?

[Fire_fly]

I was signing the paperwork for my elective section next month and the midwife said my hospital now does ehanced recovery's after c-sections meaning mum's will go home a day or two after surgery as long a there's no complications (I'm in the UK). I've never had a section and wondered if anyone has any experiences of this?
I'll be invited to an information day at the hospital were they'll go through everything for a quicker recovery and you implement it at home starting with being on your feet and walking (gently) in the evening or night after your section that morning.

 

[loeylo]

I had my daughter on the Thursday and was discharged on the Saturday at lunch time. I was out the fastest out of everyone in my room of 4, we all delivered within hours of each other, three sections and one natural. I was glad to get out so quickly! With second c-sections my hospital discharges after 24h if all is well.

 

[nordicpixie83]

I was signing the paperwork for my elective section next month and the midwife said my hospital now does ehanced recovery's after c-sections meaning mum's will go home a day or two after surgery as long a there's no complications (I'm in the UK). I've never had a section and wondered if anyone has any experiences of this?
I'll be invited to an information day at the hospital were they'll go through everything for a quicker recovery and you implement it at home starting with being on your feet and walking (gently) in the evening or night after your section that morning.

I'd love to get home quicker ! My previous csecs have been a week , then four days . It would be much more relaxing at home with family . I was on my feet quite quickly anyway after my sections , last baby I was up , showered , hair washed and dried , even had make up on , bathing baby less than 24 hrs after my op. Home on day 4 , out for lunch on day 6 ! I did rest a lot as well though . So thst I was able to do those things . I hope it all goes well for you . Be sure to drink plenty of water , get in fibre to get your bowels moving asap . Also Don't hunch over your wound . You'll want to , but focus on standing tall and using your core . Do your pelvic floor exercises .

 

[Fire_fly]

Thanks ladies I was surprised when the midwife told me as everyone else has told me I'll be in at least four days (but the again, their sections were a long time ago) and I really didn't want to be in that long as I have a toddler aswell and just generally don't like hospital's tbh, then again who does lol.

Loeylo- same here with my daughter, born on the Thursday and out on Saturday although I had been in since Tuesday (inducement)
It seems quite common then to go home quite quickly with sections then, having never had one, I was just going on what some family memebrs had told me so it'll be nice to be home sooner

Nordicpixie- can I ask how you found it being up on your feet so quickly? I know you recover much quicker though if you are so I'm aiming for that. That's great you recovered so quickly, was that a planned section? I'd heard recovery is quicker than with an emcs.
My consultant was making it seem like I'd barely be able to move for 6 weeks but had a much nicer doctor today who put my mind at ease much better!

 

[Talia12]

No first hand experience but my sister was home the day after her elective section (second baby, first c section) and my cousin just had one last week too, first baby, and was also home the next day. My sister was up and about quite quickly, to be honest I remember her recovery being worse with the tear she got from my first nephew I mean in terms of being able to move about and stuff.

 

[mrsrose16]

Hi,

I had a Csection 6 weeks ago. Had it Sunday eve and was out Tuesday. I could have been home the next day but I chose to stay an extra night due to the amount of pain I was in and breastfeeding difficulties. For me personally the pain was almost unbearable at times however, recovery was quick! I felt so much more mobile the 2nd day its just that day after the surgery thats the hardest. Xx

 

[Fire_fly]

Hi,

I had a Csection 6 weeks ago. Had it Sunday eve and was out Tuesday. I could have been home the next day but I chose to stay an extra night due to the amount of pain I was in and breastfeeding difficulties. For me personally the pain was almost unbearable at times however, recovery was quick! I felt so much more mobile the 2nd day its just that day after the surgery thats the hardest. Xx

Thanks, it's good to get different experiences so can be prepared. I'd been told it can be pretty painful at first though it's great your recovery was quick! I think I'll be in 2 days as they want to keep an eye on baby due to me having gestational diabetes x

 

[MEPride]

As a former hospital employee and recipient of a section i can give you experience on both sides.

Getting up so soon after surgery is should to speed healing by decreasing the chance of blood clots, improving breathing, and improving circulation... among other benefits. Getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is important because the deadliest of germs live in a hospital and the longer you are in it the greater chance of infection.

That said, i was incredibly grateful to stay the 3 nights I was there. It gave me the chance to sleep more when i had the nurses there to watch my baby when i needed a nap. Sleep is incredibly important for healing. It was also nice not being expected to do anything but care for my DD. The pain from my section wasn't bad but i was thankful to stay for 3 days. After 3 days i felt ready to ditch the oxycodone and then i ditched the Tylenol a day later. I feel the extra day helped me recover faster

 

[loeylo]

As a former hospital employee and recipient of a section i can give you experience on both sides.

Getting up so soon after surgery is should to speed healing by decreasing the chance of blood clots, improving breathing, and improving circulation... among other benefits. Getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is important because the deadliest of germs live in a hospital and the longer you are in it the greater chance of infection.

That said, i was incredibly grateful to stay the 3 nights I was there. It gave me the chance to sleep more when i had the nurses there to watch my baby when i needed a nap. Sleep is incredibly important for healing. It was also nice not being expected to do anything but care for my DD. The pain from my section wasn't bad but i was thankful to stay for 3 days. After 3 days i felt ready to ditch the oxycodone and then i ditched the Tylenol a day later. I feel the extra day helped me recover faster

I disagree about sleep! I wanted home because my partner was here to help me. I got far more sleep when I got out of hospital than when I was in hospital. In hospital I was in a room of 4 and it was horrific.

 

[MEPride]

As a former hospital employee and recipient of a section i can give you experience on both sides.

Getting up so soon after surgery is should to speed healing by decreasing the chance of blood clots, improving breathing, and improving circulation... among other benefits. Getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is important because the deadliest of germs live in a hospital and the longer you are in it the greater chance of infection.

That said, i was incredibly grateful to stay the 3 nights I was there. It gave me the chance to sleep more when i had the nurses there to watch my baby when i needed a nap. Sleep is incredibly important for healing. It was also nice not being expected to do anything but care for my DD. The pain from my section wasn't bad but i was thankful to stay for 3 days. After 3 days i felt ready to ditch the oxycodone and then i ditched the Tylenol a day later. I feel the extra day helped me recover faster

I disagree about sleep! I wanted home because my partner was here to help me. I got far more sleep when I got out of hospital than when I was in hospital. In hospital I was in a room of 4 and it was horrific.

Ahh, yeah... there's that side of things. My hospital has nothing but private rooms. More like suites in the maternity center than anything else. Quiet, private, your own bathroom.... it was nice. Even the bed was more comfortable than a typical hospital bed with the added benefit of bars and the ability to raise the head of the bed up.

My spouse is a wonderful help generally but he was useless right after DD was born. He came down with a cold two days after she was born so i quarantined him for a week to avoid her getting sick so soon after birth.

 

[Bonnie11]

I heard about the enhanced recovery program from my midwife at my last appt and to be honest I was terrified! Midwife didn't seem too happy about it either, she said it was too quick to push people out. But I can see both sides of the argument, our hospital is one of the busiest in the country and one of the leaders in neonatal care sonit does get very busy with high risk pregnancies so I guess it's as much for bed space as anything which is understandable. Having said that last time (different hospital) I stayed in for 4 days after and I didn't even want to go home then! I was in pain, wasn't sure how I would manage and having pain meds and midwives on hand was amazing! I had morphine first 3/4 days then switched to strong painkillers and was fine with them as long as I kept on top of the meds. Getting up was the scary part initially, I felt like my insides would fall out!!
The thought of having a section and being at home the next day with stairs and a toddler is rather terrifying to be honest but I guess I will manage if it comes to it! Because of my GD they want to keep me in for 2 days after so I know at least I will have that time but will see what happens!

 

[Fire_fly]

As a former hospital employee and recipient of a section i can give you experience on both sides.

Getting up so soon after surgery is should to speed healing by decreasing the chance of blood clots, improving breathing, and improving circulation... among other benefits. Getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is important because the deadliest of germs live in a hospital and the longer you are in it the greater chance of infection.

That said, i was incredibly grateful to stay the 3 nights I was there. It gave me the chance to sleep more when i had the nurses there to watch my baby when i needed a nap. Sleep is incredibly important for healing. It was also nice not being expected to do anything but care for my DD. The pain from my section wasn't bad but i was thankful to stay for 3 days. After 3 days i felt ready to ditch the oxycodone and then i ditched the Tylenol a day later. I feel the extra day helped me recover faster

Hi, thanks, yeah that was how they explained it to me. About catching an infection, blood clots etc. In theory, I get it, just a bit scared about putting it into practice! I suspect it's to free up beds aswell as they are a really busy hospital.
I'll be in at 2 days due to having GD so hopefully I'll feel well enough to go home then, it's a catch 22 really, I want to go home quicker as i have a 2 year old aswell but don't want to be in agony whilst doing it. I've got my oh at home for a while though and my mum's going to come to and help out so I'm lucky I that respect.

 

[Fire_fly]

I heard about the enhanced recovery program from my midwife at my last appt and to be honest I was terrified! Midwife didn't seem too happy about it either, she said it was too quick to push people out. But I can see both sides of the argument, our hospital is one of the busiest in the country and one of the leaders in neonatal care sonit does get very busy with high risk pregnancies so I guess it's as much for bed space as anything which is understandable. Having said that last time (different hospital) I stayed in for 4 days after and I didn't even want to go home then! I was in pain, wasn't sure how I would manage and having pain meds and midwives on hand was amazing! I had morphine first 3/4 days then switched to strong painkillers and was fine with them as long as I kept on top of the meds. Getting up was the scary part initially, I felt like my insides would fall out!!
The thought of having a section and being at home the next day with stairs and a toddler is rather terrifying to be honest but I guess I will manage if it comes to it! Because of my GD they want to keep me in for 2 days after so I know at least I will have that time but will see what happens![/QUOTE

I'm the same Bonnie, it's a scary thought. On one hand I want to go home quicker as i have a 2 year old aswell but don't want to be in agony while doing it! It's stairs to get my house too, about 20 of them, no other way in so we'll see what happens!
I'll be in 2 days aswell, also because of GD. Are they definitely doing the ehanced programme at your hospital? It'll be worse for you because you've had a section before and known how it feels! Hopefully we'll both be fine though. Do you have other support at home for the first while?

 

[Fire_fly]

As a former hospital employee and recipient of a section i can give you experience on both sides.

Getting up so soon after surgery is should to speed healing by decreasing the chance of blood clots, improving breathing, and improving circulation... among other benefits. Getting out of the hospital as soon as possible is important because the deadliest of germs live in a hospital and the longer you are in it the greater chance of infection.

That said, i was incredibly grateful to stay the 3 nights I was there. It gave me the chance to sleep more when i had the nurses there to watch my baby when i needed a nap. Sleep is incredibly important for healing. It was also nice not being expected to do anything but care for my DD. The pain from my section wasn't bad but i was thankful to stay for 3 days. After 3 days i felt ready to ditch the oxycodone and then i ditched the Tylenol a day later. I feel the extra day helped me recover faster

I disagree about sleep! I wanted home because my partner was here to help me. I got far more sleep when I got out of hospital than when I was in hospital. In hospital I was in a room of 4 and it was horrific.

Ahh, yeah... there's that side of things. My hospital has nothing but private rooms. More like suites in the maternity center than anything else. Quiet, private, your own bathroom.... it was nice. Even the bed was more comfortable than a typical hospital bed with the added benefit of bars and the ability to raise the head of the bed up.

My spouse is a wonderful help generally but he was useless right after DD was born. He came down with a cold two days after she was born so i quarantined him for a week to avoid her getting sick so soon after birth.

Loeylo- I agree about the sleep thing, with my daughter I went into be induced on the Tuesday morning and didn't go to the Labour ward till Thursday night and was put on a ward with other mums who already had their babies the whole time so obviously there was babies crying through the night, visitors twice a day (and some partners all day) then the lights went back on at 6am! I barely slept then laboured then barely slept again till I got home on the Saturday. Was absolutely knackered.

 

[Katia-xO]

I had my dd at 4:47pm, back on the ward for 6:30pm. They got me up walking at 11pm!! I was furious at the time but I do think it helped. A lady at the side of me refused for 1.5 days and had lots of trouble when she did actually get up. It meant I had my catheter out the morning after less than 24 hrs and was home just before 48 hrs. Only stayed in so long because dd had low blood sugars and needed monitoring before/after feeds x

 

[Bonnie11]

I have hubby at home for 2 weeks but that's it! So no help after that, plus I have the school run to do... can't quite imagine how I'm going to cope if I end up with a section but guess I will just have to somehow 😬

 

[Eliza_V]

I've also recently been told that our (UK) hospital likes to have people "up and on their feet" a couple of hours after the caesarean, and home within 24 hours. They're also calling it "enhanced recovery".

It's my second baby, but first caesarean. The first birth was absolutely awful, was terribly mismanaged, and I'm still technically recovering over 6 years later with surgical repairs having been done in-between, and will still be needing more in future. I'm really not sure how I feel about this...

 

[Fire_fly]

I have hubby at home for 2 weeks but that's it! So no help after that, plus I have the school run to do... can't quite imagine how I'm going to cope if I end up with a section but guess I will just have to somehow 😬

Aw goodness, I can't imagine how I'd feel about having a school run on top of a c-section😮 I'm lucky in a way my wee one doesn't start nursery till baby is 6 months so I'll be back to normal by then.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you don't need one!

 

[Fire_fly]

I had my dd at 4:47pm, back on the ward for 6:30pm. They got me up walking at 11pm!! I was furious at the time but I do think it helped. A lady at the side of me refused for 1.5 days and had lots of trouble when she did actually get up. It meant I had my catheter out the morning after less than 24 hrs and was home just before 48 hrs. Only stayed in so long because dd had low blood sugars and needed monitoring before/after feeds x

That's reassuring Katia, thank you I guess it's one of these things isn't it, what's gonna happen is going to happen. I'm going to try getting on my feet though to heal faster, just a bit nervous! x

 

[Fire_fly]

I've also recently been told that our (UK) hospital likes to have people "up and on their feet" a couple of hours after the caesarean, and home within 24 hours. They're also calling it "enhanced recovery".

It's my second baby, but first caesarean. The first birth was absolutely awful, was terribly mismanaged, and I'm still technically recovering over 6 years later with surgical repairs having been done in-between, and will still be needing more in future. I'm really not sure how I feel about this...

It's a scary thought isn't it? Wow, 2 hours? That seems awfully quick! I'm the same, second baby but first section. That's sounds awful, sorry to hear that, hopefully this birth will be much better although sore at first, a much quicker recovery time than your first x