Snacks for before and after a c-section?

[sandyhen85]

Hey ladies,

Question for those that have had an elective section before. I have to arrive at the hospital 4 hours before, but I'm wondering if I'll be allowed to snack between arriving and having it done. I'm guessing no in case anything were to happen and I needed a general, but thought I would ask.

Also, what would be good things to pack for snacks following the procedure. I remember with an op I had last year for an ectopic pregnancy which is a similar procedure, I was only allowed soft things like bread, omelette or porridge for the first 3 days...will this be the same, or does it differ from hospital to hospital like most things

Thanks in advance

 

[sethsmummy]

hi hun your right you wont be allowed anything before hand.. infact its from around 11pm the night before you cant eat.. i was allowed sips of water till around 6am (i went down at 9am).

afterwards you can eat what you want. although i suggest small things... i stupidly ate a proper meal that night and omg it made my stomach heavy lol. for the first few days have small regular meals/snacks. xx

 

[Marythefairy]

As pp said no food from night before and no water from 6. Afterwards I loved having grapes and dry cereal like cheerios handy so I could pick easily whilst feeding and resting I was constantly hungry but would get fill quickly. The toast and tea and biscuits when I came back to the ward tasted amazing

 

[sandyhen85]

Yikes, no food from the night before...if I don't eat breakfast by 11am I get lightheaded and my BP drops - my section isn't until the afternoon as well. I had better talk to the doc about that on Monday...thanks for the heads up.

Excellent advice about the heavy meals, I'll be sure to avoid them and stick to soft, lighter meals. Grapes is an excellent idea for snacks as well...I'll pack some cereal boxes, crackers and dried fruit then send OH for fresh fruit like grapes as well.

Luckily my hospital is like a hotel...there are so many food and drink places to choose from...Starbucks, smoothie bars, juice bars, au Bon pain, sushi plus loads of non chain restaurants. I'll be thankful for the Starbucks as it's my one treat each week or when I'm out shopping (decaf of course) so I hope I can have one afterwards

Thanks again ladies, great help

 

[blinkava]

I wasn't allowed anything before the c-section and I would suggest sticking to softer meals, because you're going to have to pass those later.

 

[STL_Fan]

(my c-section was done on 3/10/14) I was not allowed to have any food or drink after midnight. had to be at the hospital at 5am the next morn and the c-section its self was at 8am.. after i was not allowed to eat till later that eve. and even then they brought me simple stuff.. (jello, pudding and applesauce..no soda due to the fizzys. so water and ice only) what ever you eat take it easy because after a c-section your intestines are a lil off.

(pass as much gas as your body will allow you to.. trust me..lol sounds silly but it will help)

 

[Nela]

I had an emergency section so I was eating before so I can't help. However, afterwards, I was allowed the same food as everyone else. Let me warn you, avoid anything that will make you gassy. The surgery didn't hurt, but the gas pain after the surgery? Oh man...

 

[Tasha]

I had an emergency section so was eating before hand but I imagine if yours is afternoon then it probably will be no eating after breakfast.

As for after I just ate normally. No gas pains or problems but the mw said it is common and that peppermint tea can help, so maybe take some with you x

 

[sethsmummy]

thats a good point about bowels.. although i never had any problems it is common for it to hurt to pass poo afterwards.. like i say though i never had a problem with that one lol.. never had any problem with gas pains either (my sister snuck me in some pepsi max that night ) xx

 

[Boothh]

I didn't have any trouble after regarding what I ate. I didn't really fancy big meals anyway though andwas eating mainly sandwiches at first. I took biscuits , crisps, dried fruit, chocolate bars andcereal bars with me and will take similar this time. X

 

[wookie130]

You should be having a pre-op appointment, and the nurse or doctor will give you all of the guidelines, based on when your surgery is scheduled. You will not be allowed to eat anything for several hours prior to your c-section. After mine, I didn't have much of an appetite for the rest of the day, but the next day, I ate a hamburger and fries! I was pretty hungry, and I was also nursing, so that made me double-hungry!

 

[HBGirl]

I was sectioned at 1.30pm and I was allowed to have breakfast. I was STARVING come 7pm dinner though. Lucky my wonderful DH brought me a toasted cheese at around 4pm.

 

[supertabby]

Not sure how much difference there is between nhs in UK and medical system in Thailand but here's how my experience was...

I had a pre-op appointment the day before when they covered what to expect and eating etc, although I'd been told a lot of it a few weeks before when my section date was booked.

I wasn't allowed to eat or drink from midnight, although I wasn't a specific morning or afternoon surgery, it was a case of arriving at hospital at 8am and I would have my op that day. As it turned out I went down in the morning. If you're booked as an afternoon slot maybe they'll let you have an early breakfast and not eat from 6am or something.

Afterwards I was allowed to drink straight away, but had to wait a couple of hours before eating. Then I had toast and was allowed a sandwich straight after because I was still hungry. It was a sandwich because that's all that was available at the time. I was able to eat normal meals straight away from then and hubby brought me some biscuits for a treat.

I would say after the op avoid anything that's going to give you wind/gas like fizzy drinks - I avoided fizzy drinks for a few weeks. Avoid overly spicy/hot stuff if it normally upsets your tummy - pooping is a bit nervewracking at first!

 

[mysteriouseye]

Yeah no food before C-section I was scheduled to have a C-section @ 39 weeks due to my girl being breech but went into spontaneous labour at 38 weeks, I turned up at hospital but they couldn’t operate on me until the next day because I had scoffed a massive bowel of popcorn before I came to the hospital (I was in denial that I was in labour ) xx

 

[RcdM]

My first was emergency, I had eaten a twix and some snacks a few hours before. I had my dd at 1 AM so I didn't eat until probably lunch time, but my nurses told me I could order whatever I wanted. I was STARVING so I ordered a full meal lol and scarfed it down. I didn't have any problems with gas pains but I do remember when I felt like I did need to, I was so scared that my incision was going to burst while trying to push it out lol.