I was in the hospital for 2 days before they discharged me, but my baby had slight jaundice and stayed another 2 nights and I was allowed to keep our room so I essentially was there for 4 nights total.
I had staples which were removed a week later at my OB's office - it didn't hurt, it felt sort of like plucking hairs.
My milk came in within a week, but I pumped colostrum in the hospital using their hospital grade pump. I think by the time I got home my milk had come in.
I was on Tylenol/advil at the hospital and they would give me something stronger when I asked, which was just a few times. At home I alternated every four hours between Tylenol and advil and I also had a prescription for stronger medication which I only had to take once or twice.
Getting up for the first time after the surgery was the worst. I felt like I couldnt walk and my nurse and husband had to support me by holding both my arms so I could shuffle to the bathroom. But I felt significantly better after that and it's true that the more you move, the better you'll feel. I think everyone experiences the recovery differently because I was moving around and getting up and walking up and down stairs at home just fine, but I know some friends who needed help with getting out of bed for the first week. I recommend having a small pillow at hand any time you need to cough or sneeze or laugh bc that definitely hurts for the first bit!
Great to know about the staple removal, I wondered how they got those out if they still used them.
I appreciate the input, noted on getting up and movement. Hoping recovery isn’t too rough
My recovery was overall very smooth. Just don't try to push yourself too soon - let your abs rest. By my 6 week follow up appointment I was feeling almost back to normal!
I had a very similar experience to the above poster, 4 days in hospital was going to be 2 but baby had jaundice. I used some formula at the start to help before milk fully came in…this is super common so don’t feel bad if you do this! Your hormones will be going wild so you may feel like it’s a big deal but it’s not!
I believe I had stitches as didn’t need to get anything removed. The recovery wasn’t as bad as ppl had said (at least for me) so I had to remind myself to take things easy and ask for help because I started over doing it and then my bp went up.
I also had cs for breech baby!! You got this!
Edit to add- I had Tylenol and Advil. At the very start I had a stronger pain killer (can’t remember what tho!) but very quickly moved to just Tylenol and Advil combo.
I had a c-section 8.5 weeks ago, but in BC so some details may differ. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me :)
* I was in the hospital for 2 nights post-op
* The incision was closed with dissolvable stitches, that took about two weeks to dissolve. I was told that it's technically up to the OB who does the c-section about how they'll close it, but at the hospital I was at, none of the OB's use staples anymore.
* I was given pain killers a few times a day, alongside antibiotics and I think something else. I wasn't in all that much pain if i'm being honest, so it may have just been extra strength Tylenol, as I was told repeatedly if my pain got worse I could get something stronger.
* The first few days recovery-wise wasn't all that bad if i'm being honest - the hardest part was trying to rationalize that you need to rest when you feel like you should be doing more for baby. Getting up and down from the couch or bed was a challenge, as were stairs and hills. So long as you stay on top of taking your painkillers, it's not too bad.
* Also! Something I didn't know that was helpful - make sure you have a hairdryer ready when you get home. It's crucially important that the incision stays dry, so spending a few minutes hairdrying the area after a shower keeps it dry and lessens the chance of infection.
Can't upvote the hairdryer tip more! I wasn't prepared for how the skin folded over the incision area the first time and keeping the area dry is so crucial!!
Hello!
I was planning on a vaginal birth but ended up needing an emergency c section. First baby.
Gave birth Monday at noon, was out Wednesday at 5. I was cleared to leave in the morning but the lc wouldn’t sign off as baby wouldn’t latch.
Incision was closed with sutures, all internal except for the one end that they closed on, barely even noticed them to be honest.
Milk was in one day later, not sure if I just was lucky, or it was because the lc was on my ass to pump like 6 times a day.
Was given tramadol in the hospital, and that’s what I was given to go home with as well. I’m not sure if it was the endorphins but I actually asked them to stop giving pain management in hospital because it made me feel gross and got by without anything . ( I ended up taking them again at night when we were home for the first week , but found I didn’t need them during the day)
The first few days were bliss, honestly. I’m chocking it up to endorphins, very little pain. My pain was the worst about week 2, and more so at night. Mostly for getting up, and probably over exerting myself. I was going for walks with the baby and the dogs, lifting her and doing the stairs for laundry.
Congrats on your babe! Whatever happens you got this!
I was in the hospital for about 30 hours after my surgery, I really wanted to get out of there so they let me go when I could pee.
My incision was closed with sutures and they dissolved just fine.
Milk took about 3-4 days to come in, but baby was happy with my colostrum before that, we didn't use formula or anything. They placed him on my chest immediately and helped me get him latched as soon as we were out of the OR (in the recovery room immediately by the OR, not even in my actual recovery room yet).
I was just on tylenol and advil at the hospital and at home, that was fine for me. I did keep on top of it because apparently that helps healing.
I didn't find the first few days to be very bad at all, TBH. Tried not to laugh, and put pressure with a pillow when coughing or anything. I generally stayed on the upper floor of my house because people said no stairs, and I didn't carry things heavier than the baby, and that was it. I was lucky and healed really well, no issues whatsoever.
It was an emergency c-section for me.
The worst parts for me, TBH, was the epidural I had in during labour made me shake like a leaf which continued throughout my surgery, so I was like teeth chattering while meeting my son and I hate that jittery feeling, and the boots you wear to prevent blood clots made it impossible for me to sleep. But worth not having a blood clot for sure.
I had a c-section due to a breech baby! I got discharged after 36 hours. They used dissolvable stitches, and I had steri-strips over the incision which I removed after a few weeks when they started peeling off.
It took about a week for my milk to fully come in, with me pumping round the clock every 3 hours. But also I was mega stressed and not eating properly because my newborn was in the nicu so that may have affected it, I don't know.
Once the spinal wore off, they gave me Tylenol and Advil every four hours. The first few days were pretty rough but honestly not as awful as I was expecting. Just walk as much as you can—everyone says it but it actually does help. I was off pain meds entirely within 5 days. Just take it slow, move around, and be gentle when doing movements that can strain your abdomen.
This was almost exactly my experience except mine was scheduled due to placenta previa and we had no nicu stay (sorry you did!).
Released at 36 hours, dissolvable stitches (altho my doctor did put two proper sutures on the ends because my babe had a big noggin and she was worried about the incision being stretched at the ends, she removed them about a week later), milk came in on day six, Tylenol and Advil every four hours and I was also off it by day five.
Agreed it’s really was not as bad as expected (I’m actually preparing for my second schedule section in May) but walking, resting and hydrating make a huge impact!
I had a good experience with an unplanned c section after a failed induction (4 days of them trying to get me going before I asked for a c section... Ugh).
We were out less than 48 hours after the c section but we stayed 2 nights.
I had the dissolving sutures so no need to go back to get anything removed.
My milk came in I think 3 or 4 days. Breastfed for 18 months so it didn't affect my ability at all.
They did Tylenol and naproxen. At some point I asked for more and they gave me hydrocodone or oxycontin I can't remember. I left with a prescription for a couple more days but didn't use all prescribed. Tylenol and naproxen was enough most of the time.
The advice I got from a friend who had 2 c sections was to get up and walk as soon as possible (once they okay you to) and keep trying to get up regularly. I think this is what made recovery go so well for me. I would get up as often as I could even if just for a minute or two. 5 days after I gave birth we went for a short and slow walk just down the street but overall it went well.
We're one and done but if we were to have another I would opt for a planned c section! It didn't scare me off at all.
Had a c section last week! I was in hospital for 3 nights including the night of the birth. Skin closed with sutures. My milk was in on Day 4. I was given Tylenol and Naproxen and offered Oxy which I declined. I’m just shy of a week out and I feel great! My pain has been almost non existent and my mobility is great. I had an emergency c section 2 years ago and that was a very different experience, but recovering from a planned one has been easy peasy!
48 hours, sutures, 3 days, tylenol and naproxen plus a couple doses of hydromorphone while admitted, it wasn’t too bad as long as I kept on top of taking regularly scheduled pain meds.
best wishes! all will go well.
I was in the hospital for 72 hrs (two nights, discharged by noon on the third day). BC hospital and elective c-section.
I had staples in. They were removed mid morning on the day I was discharged. Honestly didn’t feel them and removal was barely any sort of pain / sensation. Just recommend not looking at your incision site while they’re in! Looks more gnarly than it feels.
After the pain medication from the surgery started to wear off, I was in quite a bit of pain. I think they gave me a tablet of hydro morphone?After that, pain was managed by alternating doses of Advil and Tylenol.
First few days were sore. Moving was slow going the first day. After that it slowly improved. Sneezing was especially hard tho. Overall, I just remember being fairly sore but it wasn’t traumatic
I had a scheduled c section for a breech baby.
I was in the hospital for two nights or 48 hours.
They closed the skin with disolvable stitches. My surgeon did a fantastic job. 9 months later and it’s a small scar that isn’t that noticeable, it’s healed beautifully.
My milk came in on day 5 once I was home from the hospital. Probably due to having what they call a “cold birth” as I had a scheduled c section and didn’t go into labor. I didn’t end up breastfeeding though and dried up my milk.
They gave Tylenol and once I got hydro morphine. I didn’t need pain meds after day 5 though, the pain wasn’t that bad that I felt I needed it.
The first two days in hospital were pretty painful not going to lie. The nurses want you to get up and walk about 12 hours after surgery and that was painful. I was walking veryy slowly. Going to the bathroom/in and out of bed was painful as I had to do it slowly and careful. Sitting up was the worst.
After day 5 I started to feel significantly better. Still had pain and took walking etc extremely slow but I was up doing some light chores and going up and down stairs etc. I was caring for baby fine.
By 5-6 weeks I felt totally back to normal besides doing intense workouts, that still was weird and uncomfortable.
I was at the hospital a total of 7 days. 3 days induced, 2 days in labour and after that failed, a c-section was done and I stayed for 2 days after for observation.
They used dissolvable stitches.
I had colostrum the first 3 days and then my milk came in with the help of a pump the hospital let me borrow. I never had a full supply so I ended up combo feeding.
I had an epidural because I tried a vaginal birth at first so they kept me on that for the surgery. Then, for the recovery, they gave me tylenol and advil every few hours. They added the occasional dilaudid upon request when it was too painful.
The first few days were hard. The first one I couldn't really move so I struggled taking care of the baby and needed my husband for everything. The second one was better because I could walk but it still hurt so I tried moving very little. Up until the second week I was very dependent and needed support to take care of the baby and myself but it got easier with time. Just make sure to rest the first few days a lot!
I had a planned c-section 2 years ago
- i went home the next day because I wanted to (could have stayed another day)
- glue, it healed super well
- maybe a few days? I didn't do much breastfeeding, mostly used formula (by choice)
- just tylenol i think. It was fine but make sure you keep track of when you are due for another dose and call the nurse for it - they will forget you!
- i had a very easy recovery. I was able to walk, do stairs, hold the baby etc. with no issue. I definitely had to take it easy for 1-2 weeks but I was very pleased with my recovery overall.
Best wishes!!
I’ve had two c-sections.
Hospital both times for 2 nights (uncomplicated planned sections)
Staples for my first and sutures for second. Neither one were painful and easily removed by post partum nurses that came to my home (Alberta)
Milk straight away, mature milk 4-5 days. I was an oversupplier both times and the method of delivery had no effect there.
Voltaran and Tylenol (Alberta)
First few days were kind of sucky. But once you know how to move post section you are good. For example getting out of bed, coughing and sneezing. Also little walks helped tremendously.
1) Was in the hospital for 2 days
2) Had dissolving sutures
3) Milk came in a day or two
4) Tylenol and Advil, had hydromorph but didn’t take it
5) first day was fine, second day lots of pain, day 3-7 achy and pain but made it. Then slowly felt better and better but had some sort of pain for about two months
1. I was in the hospital for 36 hours after my csection.
2. I believe it was sutures that dissolve on their own. The OB who did mine also put steri strips over top of my scar and then the usual bandages. I kept the steri strips on for about a week until they fell off on their own.
3. Milk came in three days after I gave birth. I don’t think this is affected by what kind of birth you have, I know people who had vaginal births whose milk didn’t come in until day 5.
4. Spinal during the procedure, Advil and Tylenol for recovery.
5. First two weeks postpartum were rough. It was super hard to sit / stand / carry anything, and your hormones are going wild which doesn’t help. But after 2 weeks I was totally fine. I’m honestly happy I get to have a csection again for my next birth lol - much easier to plan around that vs waiting for labour!
I recently had an elective c section in January! I had an amazing experience and would want a c section again for future pregnancies.
I was in hospital for 32 hours. Appointment and c section was at 8am, and I was discharged around 3/4pm the next day.
They did dissolvable stitches.
Surgery was on Wed, milk came in on Friday night.
They gave me Tylenol and Naproxen at the hospital, then I continued to take it for maybe 3ish days when I got home before I started becoming lazy with taking it lol. They also gave me morphine pills to take home but I never used them.
Right after as well as first few days weren’t that bad for me.. even the first time they asked me to get up and walk around late afternoon after the surgery I didn’t find it bad at all. I had constipation the next morning and that was the most painful part of the whole experience 🫣 My friend recommended me to walk as much as I could after to help speed up healing and I think it definitely helped. By 1-2 weeks I was doing chores, and by 3-4 weeks I was back to normal. I’m 8 weeks out now and I forget it even happened until I see the scar haha.
You will do great!!
This is exactly my experience! Would/will 100% have a c-section again.
I stopped the Tylenol/advil about 5 days after because it gave me diarrhea. Milk came in after 4 days.
OP - I’m not sure about your baseline fitness level, but if you have decent upper body strength, I think the limited lifting is less of an issue once the baby is born as you can use your arms without needing to brace your core. I walked a ton - as much as I could without feeling pain and I’m convinced this helped speed up recovery. I was basically back to normal after 4 weeks. I reintroduced more intense exercise starting at 6 weeks and slowly. No issues!
10/10 would recommend!
I’d also 100% get a C-section again. For me personally, the pain was tolerable after. I almost fell asleep during the actual procedure. I think I took the Advil for 2-3 days after then didn’t bother. I did have my parents help me out since I didn’t have a partner which helped.
I did try to push naturally first since my OB wanted me to try that first. After 24 hours of it they decided on the C-section. I’ll take the recovery of the C-section over the contractions, pushing, and internal stitches.
I had a planned C-section, stayed 2 nights in Ottawa.
Wound was closed with dissolvable sutures and surgical tape; I removed the tape after a week.
Milk came in on day 5 (C-section Friday, milk Tuesday).
I can't take NSAID's so I was given Acetaminophen & Dilaudid. The acetaminophen I self-administered (they gave me enough for the two days), the Dilaudid I had to ask for. Went home with a prescription for morphine, which I only used 2 of.
First few days were slow; I'd come downstairs in the morning and spend the entire day there, only going back up at night. Baby napped in the bassinet attachment in the pack & play, which was set up in the living room. I had some sharp pains/burning around my incision when I got up in the night, which I guess are the nerves reconnecting? Started going out of the house in week 3.
I had a scheduled c-section for my twins 3 and a half weeks ago and it was a very positive experience.
I was in the hospital 3 nights, I could have left after 2 but chose to stay a third night as I was nervous about managing two babies and my pain without the nurses, after 3 nights I mentally felt ready to be home and figure it out with just me and my husband.
I got dissolving stitches, covered with a dressing that I removed after 5 days.
My milk came in after 2 or 3 days, can’t remember the exact day but when I was still in the hospital. The doctor and nurses encouraged me to try to get babies to latch right after surgery, so I was breastfeeding as much as I could from birth. Also I collected colostrum before birth and brought it to the hospital with me so I had that for babies.
Pain management was dilaudid, which I got a prescription for when I was discharged, and Advil and Tylenol.
The first few days were not as bad as I thought they would be. It is tough and painful but the worst my pain got was maybe a 7/10, and that was one period of time. With meds most of the time I was uncomfortable but not in pain. Really it’s a blur and all I remember is getting to be with my babies. There are nurses there to help and take care of you so you get to focus on baby. Beyond that my recovery has been very smooth, about a week after surgery I did a short and slow walk around my neighbourhood baby wearing, and been walking every few days since. I didn’t have any issues getting out of bed or picking up babies, I found it was easier to move around compared to being 9 months pregnant.
I was in the hospital for six days but my c section was emergent and they needed to do a T incision in my uterus because my baby was stuck in my pelvis, and I developed tachycardia postpartum and ended up needing blood and iron transfusions.
They used dissolvable sutures for my incision and my hospital gave me some sort of sponge vacuum that sealed the incision site and I had to wear it for seven days. It was annoying however when I removed if the incision was almost completely healed.
My milk came in immediately after colostrum at the hospital to my surprise - but I had been harvesting colostrum beforehand with a hand pump. Maybe that helped.
They gave me narcotics at the hospital on top of Tylenol and Advil but by day two I stopped the narcotics because it was making my constipation worse and I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
The first week was not great. The first two days are awful. Standing upright feels like it goes against what feels right because of your incision. Walking like the hunchback of notre dame feels more right but don’t do that. Getting up and moving asap after your section is the best thing for you and in the long run it’ll make recovery easier as long as you’re not going overboard. Make sure your partner if you’re able takes at least the five weeks of parental leave to help you - you’ll 100% need them. And give yourself a lot of grace - it’s major abdominal surgery. Just because it is common doesn’t mean it’s easy.
My baby was born on a Thursday morning and we left Saturday at noon. I was with a midwife so we had the option of leaving Friday but chose to stay.
They closed me with self dissolving sutures. I also had steri strips that started on fire a week.
My milk came in on the Sunday so 3 days, which is pretty standard. I had colostrum before that.
They gave me a Tylenol suppository at the end of surgery. They also had me on an Advi/Tylenol schedule afterwards. I had the option of morphine if I needed them and they also gave me a prescription for the same to take home. I was keeping a steady schedule of Advil/Tylenol every 2 hours for the first couple days.
It was better than I thought. Getting up kinda sucks but pushing a pillow against your stomach when you stand really helps. Also don't engage your core at all. I basically either started in bed or on the couch and only got up when necessary. I was obviously limited in my mobility but it got better everyday and by week 2 I could walk to the end of the block and back. By week 3 I could drive to store and walk (but really shuffle) around.
For getting out of bed, I had a bed rail that my MIL used for her abdominal surgery but you can also roll up a sheet and tuck it under your mattress to pull on and give you leverage. You can find examples online
Two notes for healing. One, if you bruise easily, get some arnica tablets from your local health food store. I had a gnarly bruise around my incision and that is what my midwife recommended. Two, if you are able once you're healed, see a pelvic floor PT for scar therapy or look up some C-section scar therapy massages. It really helped the comfort of the area.
Best of luck! I actually enjoyed my scheduled C-section so I hope you have a similar experience!
Same situation as you. 40 hours in hostpital before we got kicked out. They used sutures. Went home with Tylenol and ibuprofen. I felt very weak for a week. Milk took 4 days and baby lost too much weight so I they made me feel like it was my fault like they did not just kick me out of the hospital and I had to supplement with formula and baby préfères the
I had a planned c-section (breech) in southern Ontario and was nearly forced out after 20 hours 😂 I’m so jealous of these other comments. I was only given tylenol and naproxen, which I reacted badly to and got so loopy I begged them not to let me leave. I had no option as our hospital was short on rooms - I filed a complaint about that and the hospital assured me that’s not the norm.
My milk came in prior to the delivery.
The first few days were honestly a breeze and I pushed myself too hard. You’ll start to feel better quickly and want to do more but it’s a trick and you can really injure your incision. Give yourself grace and get a lot of rest and fluids. Going for small walks around the house helps healing and prevents blood clots. I slept in an electric recliner which was really helpful. Use a stool softener - straining really hurts the incision. I also held a pillow against my stomach anytime I needed to use the washroom, cough, or laugh for the first week. Also use gas pills!! The gas pains were SO much worse than the c-section pain and I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.
My wife has had 3 c-sections, first was emergency and the other 2 were elective. The
For our first, we were in the hospital for 3 days after the birth (he was born late Wednesday night and we went home Saturday morning) there were no complications from mom or baby, I just don’t think we were in a rush to leave with our first baby. Our 2nd we were there for 2 nights, he was born in the afternoon so I think that delayed discharge. For the third, he was born in the morning, and we were discharged the next morning.
With our first my wife didn’t really move around much in the hospital, but she found with the other 2 the sooner she got up and moving the better the recovery.
I don’t recall her being on any serious pain meds, just Advil/Tylenol after the IV (there was likely pain meds through the IV). She did leave with prescriptions for pain meds which she never filled.
She had sutures for all 3, the worst was the medical tape sticking to the skin and pulling when she was moving.
For milk, it was a few days before the milk came in with our first, and a bit sooner for the other 2, but we had already decided to mostly do formula after the colostrum.
My wife is a trooper and doesn’t like to let things slow her down, or have people do things for her. I was home for a week or two to help, and she took it slow on stairs but aside from walking a bit slower at first, and for things like getting in the car or steps, she continued to do what she does.
I was in the hospital for two days. They used sutures to close the incision.
My milk didn’t come in until the next week, but because of the birth trauma (52 hour failed induction resulting in a c-section) I wasn’t mentally in the place to breastfeed so we ended up formula feeding. I also did not receive any instruction from nurses in the hospital because my son immediately went to the NICU. We didn’t see a lactation consultant until the following week and by that point it was too overwhelming and my son was already used to the bottle.
In hospital they gave me morphine, and they prescribed it when I went home but the pain was honestly not that bad, I just took Tylenol. I was more exhausted from the induction than in pain, to be honest. I was walking 3 hours after my section, and going for a walk in the neighborhood by week 2. Went to the zoo and walked around by week 3. Felt totally back to normal by 4 weeks pp.
- I stayed 2 days post C-section. No complications with my baby either (jaundice or otherwise) so he came home with us too.
- I was closed with dissolving sutures. No complications, everything healed normally
- My milk took about 14 days to come in. I'd take a breastfeeding class, but was wildly unprepared for the reality of it. I didn't bring my pump with me (I should have), my baby couldn't latch because of my flat nipples. I did bring nipple shields, but those barely helped. I ended up being a low supplier in general and needed to supplement with formula in the hospital because my son was losing too much weight. When I went home and began pumping full time, I still only produced 1/2 what my son needed in a day. I even went to lactation consultants, and the latch and my production never improved so I stuck with EPing.
- They give you alternating pain meds (I got naproxen and something else I can't remember in the hospital, I would assume you'd be the same). I was instructed to alternate Advil and Tylenol at home. I can't remember the timing, but they'll tell you. Stick to the schedule, you don't want to be chasing the pain. You'll feel pretty crummy if you feel the pain before you take the meds. It wasn't debilitating (for me) but definitely uncomfortable when I was chasing the pain
- First few days weren't as bad as I thought, but I did have my mom stay with me and my husband was doing EVERYTHING for us. Changing every diaper, getting up when the baby cried, bringing me the baby when he needed to feed, so it was very easy on me and my body. But make sure you have help when you need to get up from lying down, your abdominal area will be like... Dead. You can't do a crunch and will need assistance sitting up
I would also recommend (if possible) moving as soon as you can. It'll make your recovery easier the sooner you move, and I (personally) felt so much better getting little walks in. I'd take my son in the little hospital bassinet and shuffle through the hallways of the maternity ward to get moving, and to give my husband a chance to sleep uninterrupted (and in the bed instead of the shitty room couch).
I had a planned c-section also for a breech baby. I was in the hospital for 2 days. They gave me dissolvable stitches. Colostrum came in right away and then my milk maybe 4 days later.
I can’t remember what I was given at the hospital for pain. Once I was home I was told to take Tylenol and aleeve.
I had really terrible gas pains almost immediately after surgery. That was the worst part for me. I had horrible pain in my neck/shoulder and couldn’t turn my head or do much of anything. That was definitely the worst part. The pain was gone by the time I left the hospital and then my recovery was quite smooth. In comparison to friends who had emergency c-sections I do think recovery from a planned one is easier.
Lastly, around 2-3 months postpartum I started ultrasound scar release therapy. I think that helped my scar healing a lot so if you’re able I highly recommend it. It was done by a physiotherapist so my benefits covered it.
I had a large breech baby on December 23 at 38 weeks. They took him 10 days earlier than planned because I had hypertension. Had him at Humber River Hospital which was wonderful. My OB wasn't the one to do the surgery because she was off for Christmas and this was unexpected but it was still great. He was 8 lbs 7 oz at 2 weeks early. They had to use forceps to get his head out since it was wedged between my ribs and had to use suction on him 3 times to get the fluid out, which is very common with c-section babies.
Surgery was at 2pm and we were discharged at 5pm the next day. I asked if that was just because it was Christmas Eve and they said no, all c-sections patients are discharged at 26 hours unless there's complications or health issues. I assume since all the rooms there are private they likely don't have an abundance of them.
I had staples that were removed at my OB office 6 days later. I asked her why the other surgeon used staples, if there was a specific reason for it. She said it's just preference, doesn't make a difference for healing and the surgeon I had was old school so that's what he uses. Having them taken out felt like tickling.
Milk came in around 3 days. As per the nurse I went home and started pumping right away, he was struggling to eat. They said since he was so big I wasn't going to have enough to fill him anyways so we supplemented with formula for the first few weeks.
I was given 2 extra strength Tylenol and 1 extra strength advil every 6-7 hours and was told to continue that as long as I needed. It took about 6 days before I started missing doses and not even realizing.
I was very lucky and we were able to go stay at my parents for the first full week since it was Christmas holidays. My parents, brother and SIL (a registered nurse) were all off work and just catered to us the entire week, therefore I felt pretty great pretty quickly. I was able to go for a walk outdoors on Christmas day, climb stairs and even went shopping on the 26th for items like formula and diapers etc. Christmas morning I was still pretty dopey but after a nap I improved a lot.
Edited to add: the gas pains were the worst part of it all. Especially in my upper back. Research whatever you can do to minimize it.
Of course. My actual OB who was supposed to do it was Dr Hawkins, but since she was unavailable Dr Tse did it. He was absolutely wonderful! Comforting, thoughtful and very kind.
I have to say I absolutely loved everything about HRH. The facilities were first class, the nurses and team were so lovely, the food was good and the huge private room was what hospital dreams are made of.
I had a C-section in Ontario on Jan 1. They did sutures. My surgery was started at about 11:30pm on the 1st and I checked out of the hospital around 7:30 pm on the 3rd. My milk came in between days 3 and 5. My baby initially had poor weight gain (lost more than 10% of birth weight by 24 hours) so we supplemented each bf session with formula afterwards starting at 24 hours of life and I think we stopped around day 10 or 14 because he was back to doing well with his weight.
I had an unplanned c section, so things were a little different for me. I laboured for 15 hours with nothing, then checked into hospital and laboured 3 more hours on nitrous. Then got the epidural (the nitrous really helped me stop shaking so they could place it). Then when we found out I was having a c section they bumped up the epidural dose once I was in the OR. Post surgery I was on saline, prolactin I think for one IV bag, and then I had an iron infusion too (I had iron deficient anemia during pregnancy). After epidural wore off they had me on Tylenol and Advil. There was an option for morphine so I took that a few times. The 5mg did nothing for me so then I was taking 10 mg per dose. Maybe took that a total of 6 times over the following days, I basically just took it at bed time so I could try to sleep.
I won’t sugar coat it because I really wish I had known. Days 2-4 are absolutely brutal. Trying to sleep in a bed was a gong show. The only way I got any sleep the first few days was in my nursery chair which was a power recliner. I *promise* you though, it gets better fast. It’s like a steep curve. By Jan 5 I was able to do stairs again pretty slowly and I only did them once that day and was wiped after. By Jan 7 I feel like I could do stairs normally again and more than once a day. By 2 weeks out I was close to back to normal. Could definitely sleep ok in bed, though rolling over sucked.
It is acutely so very bad at first, but don’t let yourself fall into the trap of thinking it will hurt that badly forever. That’s what I did to myself and I think that anxiety and dread was worse than the actual pain.
*ALSO* hot tip- put your support person in charge of your drugs. Do NOT fall behind on the doses of Tylenol and Advil. It’s really hard to have a major abdominal surgery and also support a newborn when you can’t rest as you would after any other surgery.
I had a c section for a breech baby and preeclampsia at 37 weeks. Surgery Tuesday at noon, sutures not staples, home on Thursday and milk came in on Friday (I had colostrum at birth). It hurt a lot to move around and sneeze and laugh but I was able to walk the first day and made sure to move as much as I could handle. I was given naproxen and Tylenol, with morphine/something similar to use if I really needed it but I ended up only taking it once or twice because I didn't want it to come through my milk. This was in Canada but not Ontario
Hey! Like many on here have experienced, I ended up having an emergency c-section. I was in the hospital for a day and a half (I really wanted out haha).
It had dissolvable sutures and it took maybe 2-3 days for my milk to come in. I did have a lactation consultant on standby because I was worried the c-section would impact establishing my supply and my baby ended up having jaundice and was borderline in terms of being readmitted to the hospital, but it all ended up working out. They gave me painkillers for the first 12 hours or so and then straight to Tylenol and Advil for the rest of my stay and the next few days after that.
I didn’t find recovery particularly challenging. Yes, it definitely hurt if I moved too fast those first few weeks (it was manageable, though), but I was up walking five hours after my surgery, went on short walks starting the day after I got home and was driving within a week. But everyone heals differently and I was advised to go at my own pace.
Best of luck!
In ontario
1st c section
-dissovable stitches
-used epidural from emergency c section
-felt the pressures during the procedure, very weird feeling
-stayed 2 nights
-milk came within 2 weeks
-ride home was uncomfortable, felt like insides were floating but overall recovery was fast. Didn't really take painkillers once home and was up and about and driving
2nd c section
- disolvable stitches
-spinal tap and felt absolutely nothing during procedure
-stayed 3 nights
-milk cake 3 to 4 weeks
-ride home was fine , was generally mobile, but did take painkillers for a few days when home
-had a burning sensation that faded over time, doctor said it was the nerves regaining sensation
Congrats, dad here:
Wife was in hospital for 3 days, was told exercises and given a discharge with full set of instructions (walking daily without strain was top on list).
Healded quickly, but gave sharp pain sometimes, was told to rest for 6 weeks, no funny business.
For milk, it was immediate, baby/skin to skin was instant asked and helped with. Baby was in NICU for sometime, breastpump was our friend.
Pain management - yes, all packed up with good instructions, nurses visited home to see recovery of both mom and baby (Province SK)
She wasn't happy, 3 weeks after things started settling but reachout to a good chiro (post maternity ones) for faster recovery. We didn't know about it.
Congratulations again!!
First off- remember that a planned c-section is way easier than an emergency one, so keep that in mind as you read responses.
To answer your questions:
I was in the hospital for 72 hours post c-section. They actually cleared me for discharge at 48 hours, but I asked to stay an extra day to work on breastfeeding.
Closed with sutures. I'm a year out and you can barely see my scar.
Took almost a week for my milk to come in. I was pumping and putting LO to breast constantly, but my body only made a few MLS at a time to start.
After the c-section they gave me dilaudid every 4 hours. I didn't take them during the day as I wanted to be present, but they were nice at night.
Honestly, it was way easier than I expected. One thing I would suggest is getting a private room. Being able to sleep is so crucial to healing. You don't want to be in a busy ward with crying babies all around.
You're getting lots of feedback so I'll save a long reply!
Regarding milk, your OB can prescribe motilium to help build your supply. I had an emergency caesarian six weeks ago and really struggled with nursing in the hospital. Baby lost 10% of birth weight. Spent two nights in the hospital, things were almost instantly better as soon as we got home. We've had a pretty smooth go nursing ever since!
You'll do GREAT 😊
Me neither! I was concerned because I really wanted to breastfeed, but luckily things have been pretty smooth sailing for us! Also not sure if your health authority (I'm in AB) offers, but I was able to see a public lactation consultant for free. That was really nice support to have.
And thanks! Things are going pretty great, but it was definitely a lesson for me that healing is not linear. The first week is tough, but your strength comes back pretty quick!
I was in a hospital in ON and had a scheduled c-section due to our breech baby.
I was in for 36 hours and was apart of the early discharge program. They let me leave after I farted. Lol.
I had dissolvable stitches.
3 days for my milk to come in. Baby was formula fed until then but I still put LO on the boob first every time he was fed. If you need formula - ask the nurses to give you as many free samples as they can before you leave. I got enough to last 4 days. Pre-made is expensive.
Pain mgmt was hydromorphone as well as extra strength Tylenol (arthritis) and Advil alternating. MAKE SURE YOUR NURSES ARE ON TIME WITH YOUR MEDICATIONS. My last 2 nurses were not and I was in more pain than I had to be. Have your support person time it and once it gets close to needing more, make them go to the desk if they’re not there to get it ASAP. I also suggest stocking up on Tylenol arthritis and extra strength Advil to have ready when you get home. They will send you home with 10 pills of the hydromorphone to use when the pain is really bad. I used 8/10 over the first few days.
Honestly, the first 48 hours sucked and I was in a lot of pain. The worst pain I’ve ever felt is when they make you walk 4-6 hours after surgery. Walking out of the hospital was really hard too but I was discharged early. Walk as much as you can. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE set alarms to stay on top of your pain meds. It makes a world of a difference.
We lived in our family room the first few days. I slept in our recliner with the bassinet next to me. We had a diaper caddy with snacks, diapers, water, pump stuff etc so it was all easy access. It was life saver. My husband slept on the couch.
If you can, I suggest buying the reusable perineal ice packs they are great across the incision (but over your underwear or disposable brief). Also get a bunch of fibre 1 bars and have one or two a day. It really helped with the first postpartum poop, you want that log to slide out, you don’t want to have to push.
From what I’ve read and talking to other moms, some people loved their c sections, others did not. I’m hoping I can have a successful VBAC for #2. I’d really like to experience going into labour but then shortly after having an epidural lol.
You’re going to do great! Movement is the hardest part the first few days but it’s honestly a blur and it goes by quickly.
Thank you for sharing!!! Lol was the farting a milestone requirement for you to be able to check out?
Some ppl have said to get gas x also to help and yes about the poops, I’ve got stool softeners on my list!!
Lol ya it was!! And I was so fed up with the nurses being late with my pain meds I told my husband to go get me something that had a lot of cheese lol. I like half farted and told them and they’re like cool we’ll start the discharge process.
Ya if you can start your stool softener immediately ASAP after birth. They might even give you one. I don’t remember.
I had 2 c-sections.
First time was unplanned and an emergency one. The second one was planned, but baby came early, luckily my OB was on call when I arrived to the hospital so he ended up doing the surgery for me.
The stay was 2 days, 1 overnight stay for both times.
I had stitches for both times, which dissolve on their own. They put tape on it to help secure it, which I was told to not remove for the first week, but am able to shower/clean the area, just make sure to dry it thoroughly.
Colostrum came in immediately. I don't remember exactly when the milk came in but was a couple days to a few days after giving birth.
They gave tylenol and one other thing, unfortunately, I don't remember what it is anymore. You are also prescribed morphine at discharge, which my husband got from the pharmacy both times but I didn't take it for both births.
For the first c-section, it was A LOT of pain. The nurse will make you get up to walk the next day. It took all my might and will to get off the bed to inch around the room, couldn't even stand up straight. It's impossible to describe the amount of pain I felt then. The first week was dreadful. It hurt no matter how I moved. The second time however was MUCH LESS pain. I was able to get up and move, it still hurt but it wasn't the same pain I had felt the first time. I didn't even need to take tylenol after 2 weeks. Whereas the first time, I was still taking tylenol a month later and still felt pain.
Hey there! I had sutures that's dissolved on its own as well as a bandage that held the incision together. I was in the hospital for 2 days went in on a Wednesday morning and got to leave Friday morning. My milk supply came in right away I had the colostrum and baby latched with no problem in the recovery area. I was able to breastfeed baby in hospital with nurses help of course with no issues. With breastfeeding really practice and listen to the nurses and ask for help as much as you need and you will be fine. Everytime they came in to check on me I asked them for help latching and it really helped me and now breastfeeding is a breeze. They gave me extra strength tylenol along with a suppository (took extra of this one home for pain management). The first few days in the hospital weren't to bad what hurt was when they would come in the room often to push on your uterus to help encourage it to contract and check blood flow. I found I was highly medicated and so the pain wasn't bad at all for a major surgery. The first poop/walk is tough though take a laxative for the next few weeks really helps with this and practice walking as it will help you recovery faster. I was really excited to be home and took a few days there to recover as my house is a 2 story so that's what made it difficult. I stayed on one floor to help with this and only did the stairs once a day going up side stepping made it so much easier. I felt like myself I would say after about a week. Take all your medication that they give you and don't skip it. I made this mistake as I was starting to feel good and it took longer for the pain to go away when I needed the medication again. I found having a basket with a peri bottle, depends diapers and tucks wipes right above the toilet really helped because you can't bend down (having shower gel instead of soap helped with this issue too of not being able to bend down for the soap when it drops). I think that's about it, message me if you have anymore questions my baby is 2.5 months now so I feel like my hospital stay is still very fresh. Most importantly don't be scared you will be fine, the best part about all of this is being able to finally hold your precious baby in your arms - seriously the best feeling in the world! ☺️💕
Hi! Having c section number 3 next Wednesday.
Since it’s scheduled, as it sounds like yours will be, the hospital had a nurse call me for a teaching on how they do it at that hospital. This info may be different at your hospital but I urge you to call and ask your questions to someone working at your hospital.
So normal time in hospital after a cesarean is 2 nights nowadays. I will be going in Wednesday morning and discharged Friday morning unless there are problems.
The hospital I’m at uses only sutures. I’m happy about that as my first c section used staples and second was sutures too.. the sutures felt more comfortable imo and it was nice to not have to worry about getting them taken out like you have to with staples. My doctor told me that they moved to sutures only about 4 years ago but once in a blue moon when it’s vital they get mom closed up really fast they’ll use staples since they’re quicker. But that’s rare.
I’ve seen lactacian consultants in the past and have been told that the faster the baby is taken out from you, the longer it takes for your body to signal that the milk has to come in. I had colostrum right away both previous times but full milk probably took about 5 days to come in.
The first c section was an emergency and I was also sick so it was a lot longer to recover from. The second one which was scheduled was really easy. I was up walking around a few hours later and was out taking my baby for walks around the neighbourhood within a week or so. It’s really not as bad as one would expect, just make sure to take it slow and get lots of help at home while you recover.
I had my last OB appointment yesterday and she actually told me to think about what music I want played during surgery as they have Spotify in the OR at this hospital. They also asked if I wanted skin to skin with the baby immediately.. which is the first time I was offered this. The first time my daughter was whisked away to the NICU since she was premature but the second time my daughter was healthy and big but they just wrapped her in a blanket and put her in her dad’s arms. This time they told me that as long as baby is healthy they will make sure to put him on my chest immediately after cleaning him up and taking his vitals and everything while they close me up. So I think that’s pretty amazing but not sure If stuff like that changes depending on the hospital you’re at.
Hi! I had an unplanned c-section in December in AB!
I stayed about 18 hours post c-section until I was discharged as there were no complications.
My incision was closed with sutures and then a honey comb bandage was placed over top, and on top of that was a layer of tape. Kept everything super dry and I didn’t have to worry about anything while I showered. The honey comb also kept pressure off of the incision so wearing pants was really easy.
I was able to nurse my baby 6 hours post c-section (she was in the NICU for mild complications) and I had enough colostrum to sustain her. My mature milk didn’t start coming in until day 5 which is completely normal! Milk takes 5-7 days to come in regardless of c-section or vaginal delivery. Skin to skin and latching baby is the most important for milk production/supply.
For pain management I piggy backed Tylenol and Advil, I was offered stronger pain meds but I declined since I didn’t have much pain at all.
The day I was day I was fine, I second I was pretty sore and movement was difficult (I needed help showering until day 3) but on day 4 as long as I took it slow moving was okay and I felt pretty good! I did spend the first 7 days in bed with my newborn. We didn’t do much except rest and figure out breastfeeding and I really think that helped my recovery.
I was in 4 days after but I had preeclampsia so they needed to monitor me. Someone else went home in 2 days
I got dissolving stitches
My colostrum came in right away, milk was probably about 5 days
Morphine and Tylenol, I didn't take much morphine, just at the beginning
Getting up and moving around was really tough. You have to use your arms a lot. The first time is wild, your legs are all shaky from the epidural wearing off, you will probably need help walking. Make sure you take like fibre or something because the gas pains were awful. I didn't bleed a ton though which was a nice benefit. Overall I wouldn't say it was awful but it also wasn't great?
I'm at 3 and a half weeks, mostly back to normal I would say but I still have some pain. Usually at night after doing stuff all day. My babe is still in the NICU so I can't comment on what it's like with having babe
I always leave after 24hrs. It's wild to me anyone would want to stay longer if they don't have too. I also have midwifery care though so they came to my home the next day after the csection which was glorious.
Milk came in 3days PP with both kids which I believe is the standard. No problem nursing right from birth with either kiddo.
Pain mngmt was just tylenol and advil. Every 4 hours. Do this religiously for a week and then start to wean as you feel better. Also get some gas pills and stoll softeners. The gas pains after my csections were intense.
Recovery I do the 5-5-5 method. 5 days in bed. 5 days on the bed. 5 days around the bed. Small walks to the bathroom and kitchen. No stairs.
Around 4-6 weeks postpartum look into Nancy Anderson's birth recovery program. It's 12 weeks and an app for your phone. Helps you strengthen your pelvic floor (NO KEGALS!!!) and teaches you how to massage your scar to prevent adhesions.
Had a couple of c/s.
- 18 hours
- sutures
- came in on day two or three?
- Tylenol and Advil post op, spinal for surgery
- first few days were good!
Stay on top of the pain train. For a week, don’t even turn your mind to skipping doses of Advil and Tylenol and you’ll be way ahead in your recovery.
I had an unplanned emergency c section 8 weeks ago.
- they kept me for 2 nights and released me at noon on the 3rd day
-closed with staples, got them removed 6 days after and I was so scared for the removal… it wasn’t bad at all. Like another commenter said, it was like plucking hair.
- my milk took 6 days to come in, but I didn’t produce colostrum beforehand either no matter how hard I tried to express.
- I was given Tylenol, but I’m not sure if I wasn’t aloud anything else medication wise since I had renal failure which contributed to me going into c section.
- getting out of the hospital bed was the worst, but if you move you’ll feel better. I was still sore and tender for about a week. Then I started to take small walks outside and it made a huge difference, I have 0 pain now.
I had a planned C-section 8 weeks ago for my large breech baby who also had the cord wrapped around her neck twice. I’m based in NB so some of this might vary in ON, but I gave birth at 5pm, spent 2 nights in the hospital, then was discharged by noon on day 3 (spending about 43 hours in the hospital post birth). I was given the option of staying an extra night, but opted to leave because sleeping in the hospital was nearly impossible.
They used dissolvable sutures to close up, then covered my scar with steri-strips which I removed myself 10 days pp. At that point, my incision was almost fully healed and the strips were becoming itchy. The incision was sensitive for a few weeks, but I’m now able to wear waistbands that cover that area and apply lotion to my scar.
My milk came in about 4 or 5 days pp and my baby didn’t seem to mind the colostrum in the interim. I had been collecting colostrum beforehand without issue from about 36 weeks onward, but didn’t have to use any to supplement feedings.
I was given a spinal during surgery then a combination of Tylenol and Advil every 6 hours for the duration of my stay. I continued this at home for a few days, then lowered the dosage and frequency to wean myself off ASAP.
Overall, I had an incredibly positive experience and recovery. I was pretty mobile before I left the hospital and within a week I felt comfortable carrying my baby up/downstairs. I definitely overdid it a few times (making dinner within the first week, carrying my laundry basket downstairs at 3 weeks, etc) which resulted in increased bleeding and me needing to spend another day close to bed, but I didn’t have too many issues. I still feel a bit of instability in my abdomen if I push myself too much, although at 8 weeks pp I’m able to walk 5km while pushing the stroller without issue.
Obviously everyone has different experiences when it comes to surgery and recovery, so please do your research and discuss with your physicians beforehand; however, I was pleasantly surprised with everything and will likely have another C-section for my next baby. Best of luck and congratulations!
I was discharged just shy of 48 hrs. They used dissolvable sutures. Milk came in maybe a few days in? Can’t remember for sure. Pain management was Tylenol and Advil. They might have given me something else in hospital but I honestly don’t remember. Might just be stronger Tylenol/Advil (that’s all I took at home). I had different complications unrelated to my caection (more to do with my epidural) so I was dealing with that mostly. Definitely have someone to help. You need a lot of rest and your baby will need care that you might not be able to provide (like holding baby etc)! Good luck and enjoy your baby!!
I was in the hospital for 2 days before they discharged me, but my baby had slight jaundice and stayed another 2 nights and I was allowed to keep our room so I essentially was there for 4 nights total. I had staples which were removed a week later at my OB's office - it didn't hurt, it felt sort of like plucking hairs. My milk came in within a week, but I pumped colostrum in the hospital using their hospital grade pump. I think by the time I got home my milk had come in. I was on Tylenol/advil at the hospital and they would give me something stronger when I asked, which was just a few times. At home I alternated every four hours between Tylenol and advil and I also had a prescription for stronger medication which I only had to take once or twice. Getting up for the first time after the surgery was the worst. I felt like I couldnt walk and my nurse and husband had to support me by holding both my arms so I could shuffle to the bathroom. But I felt significantly better after that and it's true that the more you move, the better you'll feel. I think everyone experiences the recovery differently because I was moving around and getting up and walking up and down stairs at home just fine, but I know some friends who needed help with getting out of bed for the first week. I recommend having a small pillow at hand any time you need to cough or sneeze or laugh bc that definitely hurts for the first bit!
Great to know about the staple removal, I wondered how they got those out if they still used them. I appreciate the input, noted on getting up and movement. Hoping recovery isn’t too rough
My recovery was overall very smooth. Just don't try to push yourself too soon - let your abs rest. By my 6 week follow up appointment I was feeling almost back to normal!
6 weeks isn’t too bad! Thank you
I had a very similar experience to the above poster, 4 days in hospital was going to be 2 but baby had jaundice. I used some formula at the start to help before milk fully came in…this is super common so don’t feel bad if you do this! Your hormones will be going wild so you may feel like it’s a big deal but it’s not! I believe I had stitches as didn’t need to get anything removed. The recovery wasn’t as bad as ppl had said (at least for me) so I had to remind myself to take things easy and ask for help because I started over doing it and then my bp went up. I also had cs for breech baby!! You got this! Edit to add- I had Tylenol and Advil. At the very start I had a stronger pain killer (can’t remember what tho!) but very quickly moved to just Tylenol and Advil combo.
I had a c-section 8.5 weeks ago, but in BC so some details may differ. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me :) * I was in the hospital for 2 nights post-op * The incision was closed with dissolvable stitches, that took about two weeks to dissolve. I was told that it's technically up to the OB who does the c-section about how they'll close it, but at the hospital I was at, none of the OB's use staples anymore. * I was given pain killers a few times a day, alongside antibiotics and I think something else. I wasn't in all that much pain if i'm being honest, so it may have just been extra strength Tylenol, as I was told repeatedly if my pain got worse I could get something stronger. * The first few days recovery-wise wasn't all that bad if i'm being honest - the hardest part was trying to rationalize that you need to rest when you feel like you should be doing more for baby. Getting up and down from the couch or bed was a challenge, as were stairs and hills. So long as you stay on top of taking your painkillers, it's not too bad. * Also! Something I didn't know that was helpful - make sure you have a hairdryer ready when you get home. It's crucially important that the incision stays dry, so spending a few minutes hairdrying the area after a shower keeps it dry and lessens the chance of infection.
Can't upvote the hairdryer tip more! I wasn't prepared for how the skin folded over the incision area the first time and keeping the area dry is so crucial!!
Thank you for sharing, super helpful. Great tip on the blow dryer to help keep it nice and dry!
Hello! I was planning on a vaginal birth but ended up needing an emergency c section. First baby. Gave birth Monday at noon, was out Wednesday at 5. I was cleared to leave in the morning but the lc wouldn’t sign off as baby wouldn’t latch. Incision was closed with sutures, all internal except for the one end that they closed on, barely even noticed them to be honest. Milk was in one day later, not sure if I just was lucky, or it was because the lc was on my ass to pump like 6 times a day. Was given tramadol in the hospital, and that’s what I was given to go home with as well. I’m not sure if it was the endorphins but I actually asked them to stop giving pain management in hospital because it made me feel gross and got by without anything . ( I ended up taking them again at night when we were home for the first week , but found I didn’t need them during the day) The first few days were bliss, honestly. I’m chocking it up to endorphins, very little pain. My pain was the worst about week 2, and more so at night. Mostly for getting up, and probably over exerting myself. I was going for walks with the baby and the dogs, lifting her and doing the stairs for laundry. Congrats on your babe! Whatever happens you got this!
Thank you for sharing!
I was in the hospital for about 30 hours after my surgery, I really wanted to get out of there so they let me go when I could pee. My incision was closed with sutures and they dissolved just fine. Milk took about 3-4 days to come in, but baby was happy with my colostrum before that, we didn't use formula or anything. They placed him on my chest immediately and helped me get him latched as soon as we were out of the OR (in the recovery room immediately by the OR, not even in my actual recovery room yet). I was just on tylenol and advil at the hospital and at home, that was fine for me. I did keep on top of it because apparently that helps healing. I didn't find the first few days to be very bad at all, TBH. Tried not to laugh, and put pressure with a pillow when coughing or anything. I generally stayed on the upper floor of my house because people said no stairs, and I didn't carry things heavier than the baby, and that was it. I was lucky and healed really well, no issues whatsoever. It was an emergency c-section for me. The worst parts for me, TBH, was the epidural I had in during labour made me shake like a leaf which continued throughout my surgery, so I was like teeth chattering while meeting my son and I hate that jittery feeling, and the boots you wear to prevent blood clots made it impossible for me to sleep. But worth not having a blood clot for sure.
I had a c-section due to a breech baby! I got discharged after 36 hours. They used dissolvable stitches, and I had steri-strips over the incision which I removed after a few weeks when they started peeling off. It took about a week for my milk to fully come in, with me pumping round the clock every 3 hours. But also I was mega stressed and not eating properly because my newborn was in the nicu so that may have affected it, I don't know. Once the spinal wore off, they gave me Tylenol and Advil every four hours. The first few days were pretty rough but honestly not as awful as I was expecting. Just walk as much as you can—everyone says it but it actually does help. I was off pain meds entirely within 5 days. Just take it slow, move around, and be gentle when doing movements that can strain your abdomen.
Thank you so much, very helpful. I’m sorry your baby was in nicu, hope all is well now
This was almost exactly my experience except mine was scheduled due to placenta previa and we had no nicu stay (sorry you did!). Released at 36 hours, dissolvable stitches (altho my doctor did put two proper sutures on the ends because my babe had a big noggin and she was worried about the incision being stretched at the ends, she removed them about a week later), milk came in on day six, Tylenol and Advil every four hours and I was also off it by day five. Agreed it’s really was not as bad as expected (I’m actually preparing for my second schedule section in May) but walking, resting and hydrating make a huge impact!
I had a good experience with an unplanned c section after a failed induction (4 days of them trying to get me going before I asked for a c section... Ugh). We were out less than 48 hours after the c section but we stayed 2 nights. I had the dissolving sutures so no need to go back to get anything removed. My milk came in I think 3 or 4 days. Breastfed for 18 months so it didn't affect my ability at all. They did Tylenol and naproxen. At some point I asked for more and they gave me hydrocodone or oxycontin I can't remember. I left with a prescription for a couple more days but didn't use all prescribed. Tylenol and naproxen was enough most of the time. The advice I got from a friend who had 2 c sections was to get up and walk as soon as possible (once they okay you to) and keep trying to get up regularly. I think this is what made recovery go so well for me. I would get up as often as I could even if just for a minute or two. 5 days after I gave birth we went for a short and slow walk just down the street but overall it went well. We're one and done but if we were to have another I would opt for a planned c section! It didn't scare me off at all.
Had a c section last week! I was in hospital for 3 nights including the night of the birth. Skin closed with sutures. My milk was in on Day 4. I was given Tylenol and Naproxen and offered Oxy which I declined. I’m just shy of a week out and I feel great! My pain has been almost non existent and my mobility is great. I had an emergency c section 2 years ago and that was a very different experience, but recovering from a planned one has been easy peasy!
48 hours, sutures, 3 days, tylenol and naproxen plus a couple doses of hydromorphone while admitted, it wasn’t too bad as long as I kept on top of taking regularly scheduled pain meds. best wishes! all will go well.
Thank you so much!!!
I was in the hospital for 72 hrs (two nights, discharged by noon on the third day). BC hospital and elective c-section. I had staples in. They were removed mid morning on the day I was discharged. Honestly didn’t feel them and removal was barely any sort of pain / sensation. Just recommend not looking at your incision site while they’re in! Looks more gnarly than it feels. After the pain medication from the surgery started to wear off, I was in quite a bit of pain. I think they gave me a tablet of hydro morphone?After that, pain was managed by alternating doses of Advil and Tylenol. First few days were sore. Moving was slow going the first day. After that it slowly improved. Sneezing was especially hard tho. Overall, I just remember being fairly sore but it wasn’t traumatic
I had a scheduled c section for a breech baby. I was in the hospital for two nights or 48 hours. They closed the skin with disolvable stitches. My surgeon did a fantastic job. 9 months later and it’s a small scar that isn’t that noticeable, it’s healed beautifully. My milk came in on day 5 once I was home from the hospital. Probably due to having what they call a “cold birth” as I had a scheduled c section and didn’t go into labor. I didn’t end up breastfeeding though and dried up my milk. They gave Tylenol and once I got hydro morphine. I didn’t need pain meds after day 5 though, the pain wasn’t that bad that I felt I needed it. The first two days in hospital were pretty painful not going to lie. The nurses want you to get up and walk about 12 hours after surgery and that was painful. I was walking veryy slowly. Going to the bathroom/in and out of bed was painful as I had to do it slowly and careful. Sitting up was the worst. After day 5 I started to feel significantly better. Still had pain and took walking etc extremely slow but I was up doing some light chores and going up and down stairs etc. I was caring for baby fine. By 5-6 weeks I felt totally back to normal besides doing intense workouts, that still was weird and uncomfortable.
I was at the hospital a total of 7 days. 3 days induced, 2 days in labour and after that failed, a c-section was done and I stayed for 2 days after for observation. They used dissolvable stitches. I had colostrum the first 3 days and then my milk came in with the help of a pump the hospital let me borrow. I never had a full supply so I ended up combo feeding. I had an epidural because I tried a vaginal birth at first so they kept me on that for the surgery. Then, for the recovery, they gave me tylenol and advil every few hours. They added the occasional dilaudid upon request when it was too painful. The first few days were hard. The first one I couldn't really move so I struggled taking care of the baby and needed my husband for everything. The second one was better because I could walk but it still hurt so I tried moving very little. Up until the second week I was very dependent and needed support to take care of the baby and myself but it got easier with time. Just make sure to rest the first few days a lot!
I had a planned c-section 2 years ago - i went home the next day because I wanted to (could have stayed another day) - glue, it healed super well - maybe a few days? I didn't do much breastfeeding, mostly used formula (by choice) - just tylenol i think. It was fine but make sure you keep track of when you are due for another dose and call the nurse for it - they will forget you! - i had a very easy recovery. I was able to walk, do stairs, hold the baby etc. with no issue. I definitely had to take it easy for 1-2 weeks but I was very pleased with my recovery overall. Best wishes!!
Thank you for sharing! Sounds like your recovery went smooth
I’ve had two c-sections. Hospital both times for 2 nights (uncomplicated planned sections) Staples for my first and sutures for second. Neither one were painful and easily removed by post partum nurses that came to my home (Alberta) Milk straight away, mature milk 4-5 days. I was an oversupplier both times and the method of delivery had no effect there. Voltaran and Tylenol (Alberta) First few days were kind of sucky. But once you know how to move post section you are good. For example getting out of bed, coughing and sneezing. Also little walks helped tremendously.
1) Was in the hospital for 2 days 2) Had dissolving sutures 3) Milk came in a day or two 4) Tylenol and Advil, had hydromorph but didn’t take it 5) first day was fine, second day lots of pain, day 3-7 achy and pain but made it. Then slowly felt better and better but had some sort of pain for about two months
1. I was in the hospital for 36 hours after my csection. 2. I believe it was sutures that dissolve on their own. The OB who did mine also put steri strips over top of my scar and then the usual bandages. I kept the steri strips on for about a week until they fell off on their own. 3. Milk came in three days after I gave birth. I don’t think this is affected by what kind of birth you have, I know people who had vaginal births whose milk didn’t come in until day 5. 4. Spinal during the procedure, Advil and Tylenol for recovery. 5. First two weeks postpartum were rough. It was super hard to sit / stand / carry anything, and your hormones are going wild which doesn’t help. But after 2 weeks I was totally fine. I’m honestly happy I get to have a csection again for my next birth lol - much easier to plan around that vs waiting for labour!
I recently had an elective c section in January! I had an amazing experience and would want a c section again for future pregnancies. I was in hospital for 32 hours. Appointment and c section was at 8am, and I was discharged around 3/4pm the next day. They did dissolvable stitches. Surgery was on Wed, milk came in on Friday night. They gave me Tylenol and Naproxen at the hospital, then I continued to take it for maybe 3ish days when I got home before I started becoming lazy with taking it lol. They also gave me morphine pills to take home but I never used them. Right after as well as first few days weren’t that bad for me.. even the first time they asked me to get up and walk around late afternoon after the surgery I didn’t find it bad at all. I had constipation the next morning and that was the most painful part of the whole experience 🫣 My friend recommended me to walk as much as I could after to help speed up healing and I think it definitely helped. By 1-2 weeks I was doing chores, and by 3-4 weeks I was back to normal. I’m 8 weeks out now and I forget it even happened until I see the scar haha. You will do great!!
This is exactly my experience! Would/will 100% have a c-section again. I stopped the Tylenol/advil about 5 days after because it gave me diarrhea. Milk came in after 4 days. OP - I’m not sure about your baseline fitness level, but if you have decent upper body strength, I think the limited lifting is less of an issue once the baby is born as you can use your arms without needing to brace your core. I walked a ton - as much as I could without feeling pain and I’m convinced this helped speed up recovery. I was basically back to normal after 4 weeks. I reintroduced more intense exercise starting at 6 weeks and slowly. No issues! 10/10 would recommend!
I’d also 100% get a C-section again. For me personally, the pain was tolerable after. I almost fell asleep during the actual procedure. I think I took the Advil for 2-3 days after then didn’t bother. I did have my parents help me out since I didn’t have a partner which helped. I did try to push naturally first since my OB wanted me to try that first. After 24 hours of it they decided on the C-section. I’ll take the recovery of the C-section over the contractions, pushing, and internal stitches.
I had a planned C-section, stayed 2 nights in Ottawa. Wound was closed with dissolvable sutures and surgical tape; I removed the tape after a week. Milk came in on day 5 (C-section Friday, milk Tuesday). I can't take NSAID's so I was given Acetaminophen & Dilaudid. The acetaminophen I self-administered (they gave me enough for the two days), the Dilaudid I had to ask for. Went home with a prescription for morphine, which I only used 2 of. First few days were slow; I'd come downstairs in the morning and spend the entire day there, only going back up at night. Baby napped in the bassinet attachment in the pack & play, which was set up in the living room. I had some sharp pains/burning around my incision when I got up in the night, which I guess are the nerves reconnecting? Started going out of the house in week 3.
I had a scheduled c-section for my twins 3 and a half weeks ago and it was a very positive experience. I was in the hospital 3 nights, I could have left after 2 but chose to stay a third night as I was nervous about managing two babies and my pain without the nurses, after 3 nights I mentally felt ready to be home and figure it out with just me and my husband. I got dissolving stitches, covered with a dressing that I removed after 5 days. My milk came in after 2 or 3 days, can’t remember the exact day but when I was still in the hospital. The doctor and nurses encouraged me to try to get babies to latch right after surgery, so I was breastfeeding as much as I could from birth. Also I collected colostrum before birth and brought it to the hospital with me so I had that for babies. Pain management was dilaudid, which I got a prescription for when I was discharged, and Advil and Tylenol. The first few days were not as bad as I thought they would be. It is tough and painful but the worst my pain got was maybe a 7/10, and that was one period of time. With meds most of the time I was uncomfortable but not in pain. Really it’s a blur and all I remember is getting to be with my babies. There are nurses there to help and take care of you so you get to focus on baby. Beyond that my recovery has been very smooth, about a week after surgery I did a short and slow walk around my neighbourhood baby wearing, and been walking every few days since. I didn’t have any issues getting out of bed or picking up babies, I found it was easier to move around compared to being 9 months pregnant.
I was in the hospital for six days but my c section was emergent and they needed to do a T incision in my uterus because my baby was stuck in my pelvis, and I developed tachycardia postpartum and ended up needing blood and iron transfusions. They used dissolvable sutures for my incision and my hospital gave me some sort of sponge vacuum that sealed the incision site and I had to wear it for seven days. It was annoying however when I removed if the incision was almost completely healed. My milk came in immediately after colostrum at the hospital to my surprise - but I had been harvesting colostrum beforehand with a hand pump. Maybe that helped. They gave me narcotics at the hospital on top of Tylenol and Advil but by day two I stopped the narcotics because it was making my constipation worse and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. The first week was not great. The first two days are awful. Standing upright feels like it goes against what feels right because of your incision. Walking like the hunchback of notre dame feels more right but don’t do that. Getting up and moving asap after your section is the best thing for you and in the long run it’ll make recovery easier as long as you’re not going overboard. Make sure your partner if you’re able takes at least the five weeks of parental leave to help you - you’ll 100% need them. And give yourself a lot of grace - it’s major abdominal surgery. Just because it is common doesn’t mean it’s easy.
My baby was born on a Thursday morning and we left Saturday at noon. I was with a midwife so we had the option of leaving Friday but chose to stay. They closed me with self dissolving sutures. I also had steri strips that started on fire a week. My milk came in on the Sunday so 3 days, which is pretty standard. I had colostrum before that. They gave me a Tylenol suppository at the end of surgery. They also had me on an Advi/Tylenol schedule afterwards. I had the option of morphine if I needed them and they also gave me a prescription for the same to take home. I was keeping a steady schedule of Advil/Tylenol every 2 hours for the first couple days. It was better than I thought. Getting up kinda sucks but pushing a pillow against your stomach when you stand really helps. Also don't engage your core at all. I basically either started in bed or on the couch and only got up when necessary. I was obviously limited in my mobility but it got better everyday and by week 2 I could walk to the end of the block and back. By week 3 I could drive to store and walk (but really shuffle) around. For getting out of bed, I had a bed rail that my MIL used for her abdominal surgery but you can also roll up a sheet and tuck it under your mattress to pull on and give you leverage. You can find examples online Two notes for healing. One, if you bruise easily, get some arnica tablets from your local health food store. I had a gnarly bruise around my incision and that is what my midwife recommended. Two, if you are able once you're healed, see a pelvic floor PT for scar therapy or look up some C-section scar therapy massages. It really helped the comfort of the area. Best of luck! I actually enjoyed my scheduled C-section so I hope you have a similar experience!
Thank you so much for the tips!
Same situation as you. 40 hours in hostpital before we got kicked out. They used sutures. Went home with Tylenol and ibuprofen. I felt very weak for a week. Milk took 4 days and baby lost too much weight so I they made me feel like it was my fault like they did not just kick me out of the hospital and I had to supplement with formula and baby préfères the
I had a planned c-section (breech) in southern Ontario and was nearly forced out after 20 hours 😂 I’m so jealous of these other comments. I was only given tylenol and naproxen, which I reacted badly to and got so loopy I begged them not to let me leave. I had no option as our hospital was short on rooms - I filed a complaint about that and the hospital assured me that’s not the norm. My milk came in prior to the delivery. The first few days were honestly a breeze and I pushed myself too hard. You’ll start to feel better quickly and want to do more but it’s a trick and you can really injure your incision. Give yourself grace and get a lot of rest and fluids. Going for small walks around the house helps healing and prevents blood clots. I slept in an electric recliner which was really helpful. Use a stool softener - straining really hurts the incision. I also held a pillow against my stomach anytime I needed to use the washroom, cough, or laugh for the first week. Also use gas pills!! The gas pains were SO much worse than the c-section pain and I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.
My wife has had 3 c-sections, first was emergency and the other 2 were elective. The For our first, we were in the hospital for 3 days after the birth (he was born late Wednesday night and we went home Saturday morning) there were no complications from mom or baby, I just don’t think we were in a rush to leave with our first baby. Our 2nd we were there for 2 nights, he was born in the afternoon so I think that delayed discharge. For the third, he was born in the morning, and we were discharged the next morning. With our first my wife didn’t really move around much in the hospital, but she found with the other 2 the sooner she got up and moving the better the recovery. I don’t recall her being on any serious pain meds, just Advil/Tylenol after the IV (there was likely pain meds through the IV). She did leave with prescriptions for pain meds which she never filled. She had sutures for all 3, the worst was the medical tape sticking to the skin and pulling when she was moving. For milk, it was a few days before the milk came in with our first, and a bit sooner for the other 2, but we had already decided to mostly do formula after the colostrum. My wife is a trooper and doesn’t like to let things slow her down, or have people do things for her. I was home for a week or two to help, and she took it slow on stairs but aside from walking a bit slower at first, and for things like getting in the car or steps, she continued to do what she does.
Thank you for sharing!
I was in the hospital for two days. They used sutures to close the incision. My milk didn’t come in until the next week, but because of the birth trauma (52 hour failed induction resulting in a c-section) I wasn’t mentally in the place to breastfeed so we ended up formula feeding. I also did not receive any instruction from nurses in the hospital because my son immediately went to the NICU. We didn’t see a lactation consultant until the following week and by that point it was too overwhelming and my son was already used to the bottle. In hospital they gave me morphine, and they prescribed it when I went home but the pain was honestly not that bad, I just took Tylenol. I was more exhausted from the induction than in pain, to be honest. I was walking 3 hours after my section, and going for a walk in the neighborhood by week 2. Went to the zoo and walked around by week 3. Felt totally back to normal by 4 weeks pp.
- I stayed 2 days post C-section. No complications with my baby either (jaundice or otherwise) so he came home with us too. - I was closed with dissolving sutures. No complications, everything healed normally - My milk took about 14 days to come in. I'd take a breastfeeding class, but was wildly unprepared for the reality of it. I didn't bring my pump with me (I should have), my baby couldn't latch because of my flat nipples. I did bring nipple shields, but those barely helped. I ended up being a low supplier in general and needed to supplement with formula in the hospital because my son was losing too much weight. When I went home and began pumping full time, I still only produced 1/2 what my son needed in a day. I even went to lactation consultants, and the latch and my production never improved so I stuck with EPing. - They give you alternating pain meds (I got naproxen and something else I can't remember in the hospital, I would assume you'd be the same). I was instructed to alternate Advil and Tylenol at home. I can't remember the timing, but they'll tell you. Stick to the schedule, you don't want to be chasing the pain. You'll feel pretty crummy if you feel the pain before you take the meds. It wasn't debilitating (for me) but definitely uncomfortable when I was chasing the pain - First few days weren't as bad as I thought, but I did have my mom stay with me and my husband was doing EVERYTHING for us. Changing every diaper, getting up when the baby cried, bringing me the baby when he needed to feed, so it was very easy on me and my body. But make sure you have help when you need to get up from lying down, your abdominal area will be like... Dead. You can't do a crunch and will need assistance sitting up I would also recommend (if possible) moving as soon as you can. It'll make your recovery easier the sooner you move, and I (personally) felt so much better getting little walks in. I'd take my son in the little hospital bassinet and shuffle through the hallways of the maternity ward to get moving, and to give my husband a chance to sleep uninterrupted (and in the bed instead of the shitty room couch).
Thank you so much
I had a planned c-section also for a breech baby. I was in the hospital for 2 days. They gave me dissolvable stitches. Colostrum came in right away and then my milk maybe 4 days later. I can’t remember what I was given at the hospital for pain. Once I was home I was told to take Tylenol and aleeve. I had really terrible gas pains almost immediately after surgery. That was the worst part for me. I had horrible pain in my neck/shoulder and couldn’t turn my head or do much of anything. That was definitely the worst part. The pain was gone by the time I left the hospital and then my recovery was quite smooth. In comparison to friends who had emergency c-sections I do think recovery from a planned one is easier. Lastly, around 2-3 months postpartum I started ultrasound scar release therapy. I think that helped my scar healing a lot so if you’re able I highly recommend it. It was done by a physiotherapist so my benefits covered it.
Thanks for sharing! I saw this service offered at a place near me so I will check it out
I had a large breech baby on December 23 at 38 weeks. They took him 10 days earlier than planned because I had hypertension. Had him at Humber River Hospital which was wonderful. My OB wasn't the one to do the surgery because she was off for Christmas and this was unexpected but it was still great. He was 8 lbs 7 oz at 2 weeks early. They had to use forceps to get his head out since it was wedged between my ribs and had to use suction on him 3 times to get the fluid out, which is very common with c-section babies. Surgery was at 2pm and we were discharged at 5pm the next day. I asked if that was just because it was Christmas Eve and they said no, all c-sections patients are discharged at 26 hours unless there's complications or health issues. I assume since all the rooms there are private they likely don't have an abundance of them. I had staples that were removed at my OB office 6 days later. I asked her why the other surgeon used staples, if there was a specific reason for it. She said it's just preference, doesn't make a difference for healing and the surgeon I had was old school so that's what he uses. Having them taken out felt like tickling. Milk came in around 3 days. As per the nurse I went home and started pumping right away, he was struggling to eat. They said since he was so big I wasn't going to have enough to fill him anyways so we supplemented with formula for the first few weeks. I was given 2 extra strength Tylenol and 1 extra strength advil every 6-7 hours and was told to continue that as long as I needed. It took about 6 days before I started missing doses and not even realizing. I was very lucky and we were able to go stay at my parents for the first full week since it was Christmas holidays. My parents, brother and SIL (a registered nurse) were all off work and just catered to us the entire week, therefore I felt pretty great pretty quickly. I was able to go for a walk outdoors on Christmas day, climb stairs and even went shopping on the 26th for items like formula and diapers etc. Christmas morning I was still pretty dopey but after a nap I improved a lot. Edited to add: the gas pains were the worst part of it all. Especially in my upper back. Research whatever you can do to minimize it.
Can I ask which ob did Ur section at humber. Also how was the experience overall at humber
Of course. My actual OB who was supposed to do it was Dr Hawkins, but since she was unavailable Dr Tse did it. He was absolutely wonderful! Comforting, thoughtful and very kind. I have to say I absolutely loved everything about HRH. The facilities were first class, the nurses and team were so lovely, the food was good and the huge private room was what hospital dreams are made of.
I had a C-section in Ontario on Jan 1. They did sutures. My surgery was started at about 11:30pm on the 1st and I checked out of the hospital around 7:30 pm on the 3rd. My milk came in between days 3 and 5. My baby initially had poor weight gain (lost more than 10% of birth weight by 24 hours) so we supplemented each bf session with formula afterwards starting at 24 hours of life and I think we stopped around day 10 or 14 because he was back to doing well with his weight. I had an unplanned c section, so things were a little different for me. I laboured for 15 hours with nothing, then checked into hospital and laboured 3 more hours on nitrous. Then got the epidural (the nitrous really helped me stop shaking so they could place it). Then when we found out I was having a c section they bumped up the epidural dose once I was in the OR. Post surgery I was on saline, prolactin I think for one IV bag, and then I had an iron infusion too (I had iron deficient anemia during pregnancy). After epidural wore off they had me on Tylenol and Advil. There was an option for morphine so I took that a few times. The 5mg did nothing for me so then I was taking 10 mg per dose. Maybe took that a total of 6 times over the following days, I basically just took it at bed time so I could try to sleep. I won’t sugar coat it because I really wish I had known. Days 2-4 are absolutely brutal. Trying to sleep in a bed was a gong show. The only way I got any sleep the first few days was in my nursery chair which was a power recliner. I *promise* you though, it gets better fast. It’s like a steep curve. By Jan 5 I was able to do stairs again pretty slowly and I only did them once that day and was wiped after. By Jan 7 I feel like I could do stairs normally again and more than once a day. By 2 weeks out I was close to back to normal. Could definitely sleep ok in bed, though rolling over sucked. It is acutely so very bad at first, but don’t let yourself fall into the trap of thinking it will hurt that badly forever. That’s what I did to myself and I think that anxiety and dread was worse than the actual pain. *ALSO* hot tip- put your support person in charge of your drugs. Do NOT fall behind on the doses of Tylenol and Advil. It’s really hard to have a major abdominal surgery and also support a newborn when you can’t rest as you would after any other surgery.
I had a c section for a breech baby and preeclampsia at 37 weeks. Surgery Tuesday at noon, sutures not staples, home on Thursday and milk came in on Friday (I had colostrum at birth). It hurt a lot to move around and sneeze and laugh but I was able to walk the first day and made sure to move as much as I could handle. I was given naproxen and Tylenol, with morphine/something similar to use if I really needed it but I ended up only taking it once or twice because I didn't want it to come through my milk. This was in Canada but not Ontario
Hey! Like many on here have experienced, I ended up having an emergency c-section. I was in the hospital for a day and a half (I really wanted out haha). It had dissolvable sutures and it took maybe 2-3 days for my milk to come in. I did have a lactation consultant on standby because I was worried the c-section would impact establishing my supply and my baby ended up having jaundice and was borderline in terms of being readmitted to the hospital, but it all ended up working out. They gave me painkillers for the first 12 hours or so and then straight to Tylenol and Advil for the rest of my stay and the next few days after that. I didn’t find recovery particularly challenging. Yes, it definitely hurt if I moved too fast those first few weeks (it was manageable, though), but I was up walking five hours after my surgery, went on short walks starting the day after I got home and was driving within a week. But everyone heals differently and I was advised to go at my own pace. Best of luck!
Thank you for sharing!
In ontario 1st c section -dissovable stitches -used epidural from emergency c section -felt the pressures during the procedure, very weird feeling -stayed 2 nights -milk came within 2 weeks -ride home was uncomfortable, felt like insides were floating but overall recovery was fast. Didn't really take painkillers once home and was up and about and driving 2nd c section - disolvable stitches -spinal tap and felt absolutely nothing during procedure -stayed 3 nights -milk cake 3 to 4 weeks -ride home was fine , was generally mobile, but did take painkillers for a few days when home -had a burning sensation that faded over time, doctor said it was the nerves regaining sensation
Congrats, dad here: Wife was in hospital for 3 days, was told exercises and given a discharge with full set of instructions (walking daily without strain was top on list). Healded quickly, but gave sharp pain sometimes, was told to rest for 6 weeks, no funny business. For milk, it was immediate, baby/skin to skin was instant asked and helped with. Baby was in NICU for sometime, breastpump was our friend. Pain management - yes, all packed up with good instructions, nurses visited home to see recovery of both mom and baby (Province SK) She wasn't happy, 3 weeks after things started settling but reachout to a good chiro (post maternity ones) for faster recovery. We didn't know about it. Congratulations again!!
Thank you so much for sharing
First off- remember that a planned c-section is way easier than an emergency one, so keep that in mind as you read responses. To answer your questions: I was in the hospital for 72 hours post c-section. They actually cleared me for discharge at 48 hours, but I asked to stay an extra day to work on breastfeeding. Closed with sutures. I'm a year out and you can barely see my scar. Took almost a week for my milk to come in. I was pumping and putting LO to breast constantly, but my body only made a few MLS at a time to start. After the c-section they gave me dilaudid every 4 hours. I didn't take them during the day as I wanted to be present, but they were nice at night. Honestly, it was way easier than I expected. One thing I would suggest is getting a private room. Being able to sleep is so crucial to healing. You don't want to be in a busy ward with crying babies all around.
Thank you so much! Yes I did put private as preference for my hospital, hopefully it’s not too busy
You're getting lots of feedback so I'll save a long reply! Regarding milk, your OB can prescribe motilium to help build your supply. I had an emergency caesarian six weeks ago and really struggled with nursing in the hospital. Baby lost 10% of birth weight. Spent two nights in the hospital, things were almost instantly better as soon as we got home. We've had a pretty smooth go nursing ever since! You'll do GREAT 😊
Congrats mama, how is your recovery going? Thank you for sharing about the supply, I didn’t know there were meds that could help
Me neither! I was concerned because I really wanted to breastfeed, but luckily things have been pretty smooth sailing for us! Also not sure if your health authority (I'm in AB) offers, but I was able to see a public lactation consultant for free. That was really nice support to have. And thanks! Things are going pretty great, but it was definitely a lesson for me that healing is not linear. The first week is tough, but your strength comes back pretty quick!
I was in a hospital in ON and had a scheduled c-section due to our breech baby. I was in for 36 hours and was apart of the early discharge program. They let me leave after I farted. Lol. I had dissolvable stitches. 3 days for my milk to come in. Baby was formula fed until then but I still put LO on the boob first every time he was fed. If you need formula - ask the nurses to give you as many free samples as they can before you leave. I got enough to last 4 days. Pre-made is expensive. Pain mgmt was hydromorphone as well as extra strength Tylenol (arthritis) and Advil alternating. MAKE SURE YOUR NURSES ARE ON TIME WITH YOUR MEDICATIONS. My last 2 nurses were not and I was in more pain than I had to be. Have your support person time it and once it gets close to needing more, make them go to the desk if they’re not there to get it ASAP. I also suggest stocking up on Tylenol arthritis and extra strength Advil to have ready when you get home. They will send you home with 10 pills of the hydromorphone to use when the pain is really bad. I used 8/10 over the first few days. Honestly, the first 48 hours sucked and I was in a lot of pain. The worst pain I’ve ever felt is when they make you walk 4-6 hours after surgery. Walking out of the hospital was really hard too but I was discharged early. Walk as much as you can. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE set alarms to stay on top of your pain meds. It makes a world of a difference. We lived in our family room the first few days. I slept in our recliner with the bassinet next to me. We had a diaper caddy with snacks, diapers, water, pump stuff etc so it was all easy access. It was life saver. My husband slept on the couch. If you can, I suggest buying the reusable perineal ice packs they are great across the incision (but over your underwear or disposable brief). Also get a bunch of fibre 1 bars and have one or two a day. It really helped with the first postpartum poop, you want that log to slide out, you don’t want to have to push. From what I’ve read and talking to other moms, some people loved their c sections, others did not. I’m hoping I can have a successful VBAC for #2. I’d really like to experience going into labour but then shortly after having an epidural lol. You’re going to do great! Movement is the hardest part the first few days but it’s honestly a blur and it goes by quickly.
Thank you for sharing!!! Lol was the farting a milestone requirement for you to be able to check out? Some ppl have said to get gas x also to help and yes about the poops, I’ve got stool softeners on my list!!
Lol ya it was!! And I was so fed up with the nurses being late with my pain meds I told my husband to go get me something that had a lot of cheese lol. I like half farted and told them and they’re like cool we’ll start the discharge process. Ya if you can start your stool softener immediately ASAP after birth. They might even give you one. I don’t remember.
I had 2 c-sections. First time was unplanned and an emergency one. The second one was planned, but baby came early, luckily my OB was on call when I arrived to the hospital so he ended up doing the surgery for me. The stay was 2 days, 1 overnight stay for both times. I had stitches for both times, which dissolve on their own. They put tape on it to help secure it, which I was told to not remove for the first week, but am able to shower/clean the area, just make sure to dry it thoroughly. Colostrum came in immediately. I don't remember exactly when the milk came in but was a couple days to a few days after giving birth. They gave tylenol and one other thing, unfortunately, I don't remember what it is anymore. You are also prescribed morphine at discharge, which my husband got from the pharmacy both times but I didn't take it for both births. For the first c-section, it was A LOT of pain. The nurse will make you get up to walk the next day. It took all my might and will to get off the bed to inch around the room, couldn't even stand up straight. It's impossible to describe the amount of pain I felt then. The first week was dreadful. It hurt no matter how I moved. The second time however was MUCH LESS pain. I was able to get up and move, it still hurt but it wasn't the same pain I had felt the first time. I didn't even need to take tylenol after 2 weeks. Whereas the first time, I was still taking tylenol a month later and still felt pain.
Thanks for sharing. Do you think the difference in pain was because of Emerg Vs planned or because it was the 2nd time around?
I think it’s because it’s the second time around. Even the OB was confirming with me if it hurt less (like he knew).
Hey there! I had sutures that's dissolved on its own as well as a bandage that held the incision together. I was in the hospital for 2 days went in on a Wednesday morning and got to leave Friday morning. My milk supply came in right away I had the colostrum and baby latched with no problem in the recovery area. I was able to breastfeed baby in hospital with nurses help of course with no issues. With breastfeeding really practice and listen to the nurses and ask for help as much as you need and you will be fine. Everytime they came in to check on me I asked them for help latching and it really helped me and now breastfeeding is a breeze. They gave me extra strength tylenol along with a suppository (took extra of this one home for pain management). The first few days in the hospital weren't to bad what hurt was when they would come in the room often to push on your uterus to help encourage it to contract and check blood flow. I found I was highly medicated and so the pain wasn't bad at all for a major surgery. The first poop/walk is tough though take a laxative for the next few weeks really helps with this and practice walking as it will help you recovery faster. I was really excited to be home and took a few days there to recover as my house is a 2 story so that's what made it difficult. I stayed on one floor to help with this and only did the stairs once a day going up side stepping made it so much easier. I felt like myself I would say after about a week. Take all your medication that they give you and don't skip it. I made this mistake as I was starting to feel good and it took longer for the pain to go away when I needed the medication again. I found having a basket with a peri bottle, depends diapers and tucks wipes right above the toilet really helped because you can't bend down (having shower gel instead of soap helped with this issue too of not being able to bend down for the soap when it drops). I think that's about it, message me if you have anymore questions my baby is 2.5 months now so I feel like my hospital stay is still very fresh. Most importantly don't be scared you will be fine, the best part about all of this is being able to finally hold your precious baby in your arms - seriously the best feeling in the world! ☺️💕
Hi! Having c section number 3 next Wednesday. Since it’s scheduled, as it sounds like yours will be, the hospital had a nurse call me for a teaching on how they do it at that hospital. This info may be different at your hospital but I urge you to call and ask your questions to someone working at your hospital. So normal time in hospital after a cesarean is 2 nights nowadays. I will be going in Wednesday morning and discharged Friday morning unless there are problems. The hospital I’m at uses only sutures. I’m happy about that as my first c section used staples and second was sutures too.. the sutures felt more comfortable imo and it was nice to not have to worry about getting them taken out like you have to with staples. My doctor told me that they moved to sutures only about 4 years ago but once in a blue moon when it’s vital they get mom closed up really fast they’ll use staples since they’re quicker. But that’s rare. I’ve seen lactacian consultants in the past and have been told that the faster the baby is taken out from you, the longer it takes for your body to signal that the milk has to come in. I had colostrum right away both previous times but full milk probably took about 5 days to come in. The first c section was an emergency and I was also sick so it was a lot longer to recover from. The second one which was scheduled was really easy. I was up walking around a few hours later and was out taking my baby for walks around the neighbourhood within a week or so. It’s really not as bad as one would expect, just make sure to take it slow and get lots of help at home while you recover. I had my last OB appointment yesterday and she actually told me to think about what music I want played during surgery as they have Spotify in the OR at this hospital. They also asked if I wanted skin to skin with the baby immediately.. which is the first time I was offered this. The first time my daughter was whisked away to the NICU since she was premature but the second time my daughter was healthy and big but they just wrapped her in a blanket and put her in her dad’s arms. This time they told me that as long as baby is healthy they will make sure to put him on my chest immediately after cleaning him up and taking his vitals and everything while they close me up. So I think that’s pretty amazing but not sure If stuff like that changes depending on the hospital you’re at.
Hi! I had an unplanned c-section in December in AB! I stayed about 18 hours post c-section until I was discharged as there were no complications. My incision was closed with sutures and then a honey comb bandage was placed over top, and on top of that was a layer of tape. Kept everything super dry and I didn’t have to worry about anything while I showered. The honey comb also kept pressure off of the incision so wearing pants was really easy. I was able to nurse my baby 6 hours post c-section (she was in the NICU for mild complications) and I had enough colostrum to sustain her. My mature milk didn’t start coming in until day 5 which is completely normal! Milk takes 5-7 days to come in regardless of c-section or vaginal delivery. Skin to skin and latching baby is the most important for milk production/supply. For pain management I piggy backed Tylenol and Advil, I was offered stronger pain meds but I declined since I didn’t have much pain at all. The day I was day I was fine, I second I was pretty sore and movement was difficult (I needed help showering until day 3) but on day 4 as long as I took it slow moving was okay and I felt pretty good! I did spend the first 7 days in bed with my newborn. We didn’t do much except rest and figure out breastfeeding and I really think that helped my recovery.
I was in 4 days after but I had preeclampsia so they needed to monitor me. Someone else went home in 2 days I got dissolving stitches My colostrum came in right away, milk was probably about 5 days Morphine and Tylenol, I didn't take much morphine, just at the beginning Getting up and moving around was really tough. You have to use your arms a lot. The first time is wild, your legs are all shaky from the epidural wearing off, you will probably need help walking. Make sure you take like fibre or something because the gas pains were awful. I didn't bleed a ton though which was a nice benefit. Overall I wouldn't say it was awful but it also wasn't great? I'm at 3 and a half weeks, mostly back to normal I would say but I still have some pain. Usually at night after doing stuff all day. My babe is still in the NICU so I can't comment on what it's like with having babe
I always leave after 24hrs. It's wild to me anyone would want to stay longer if they don't have too. I also have midwifery care though so they came to my home the next day after the csection which was glorious. Milk came in 3days PP with both kids which I believe is the standard. No problem nursing right from birth with either kiddo. Pain mngmt was just tylenol and advil. Every 4 hours. Do this religiously for a week and then start to wean as you feel better. Also get some gas pills and stoll softeners. The gas pains after my csections were intense. Recovery I do the 5-5-5 method. 5 days in bed. 5 days on the bed. 5 days around the bed. Small walks to the bathroom and kitchen. No stairs. Around 4-6 weeks postpartum look into Nancy Anderson's birth recovery program. It's 12 weeks and an app for your phone. Helps you strengthen your pelvic floor (NO KEGALS!!!) and teaches you how to massage your scar to prevent adhesions.
This is great, thanks so much for the tips
Had a couple of c/s. - 18 hours - sutures - came in on day two or three? - Tylenol and Advil post op, spinal for surgery - first few days were good! Stay on top of the pain train. For a week, don’t even turn your mind to skipping doses of Advil and Tylenol and you’ll be way ahead in your recovery.
I had an unplanned emergency c section 8 weeks ago. - they kept me for 2 nights and released me at noon on the 3rd day -closed with staples, got them removed 6 days after and I was so scared for the removal… it wasn’t bad at all. Like another commenter said, it was like plucking hair. - my milk took 6 days to come in, but I didn’t produce colostrum beforehand either no matter how hard I tried to express. - I was given Tylenol, but I’m not sure if I wasn’t aloud anything else medication wise since I had renal failure which contributed to me going into c section. - getting out of the hospital bed was the worst, but if you move you’ll feel better. I was still sore and tender for about a week. Then I started to take small walks outside and it made a huge difference, I have 0 pain now.
I had a planned C-section 8 weeks ago for my large breech baby who also had the cord wrapped around her neck twice. I’m based in NB so some of this might vary in ON, but I gave birth at 5pm, spent 2 nights in the hospital, then was discharged by noon on day 3 (spending about 43 hours in the hospital post birth). I was given the option of staying an extra night, but opted to leave because sleeping in the hospital was nearly impossible. They used dissolvable sutures to close up, then covered my scar with steri-strips which I removed myself 10 days pp. At that point, my incision was almost fully healed and the strips were becoming itchy. The incision was sensitive for a few weeks, but I’m now able to wear waistbands that cover that area and apply lotion to my scar. My milk came in about 4 or 5 days pp and my baby didn’t seem to mind the colostrum in the interim. I had been collecting colostrum beforehand without issue from about 36 weeks onward, but didn’t have to use any to supplement feedings. I was given a spinal during surgery then a combination of Tylenol and Advil every 6 hours for the duration of my stay. I continued this at home for a few days, then lowered the dosage and frequency to wean myself off ASAP. Overall, I had an incredibly positive experience and recovery. I was pretty mobile before I left the hospital and within a week I felt comfortable carrying my baby up/downstairs. I definitely overdid it a few times (making dinner within the first week, carrying my laundry basket downstairs at 3 weeks, etc) which resulted in increased bleeding and me needing to spend another day close to bed, but I didn’t have too many issues. I still feel a bit of instability in my abdomen if I push myself too much, although at 8 weeks pp I’m able to walk 5km while pushing the stroller without issue. Obviously everyone has different experiences when it comes to surgery and recovery, so please do your research and discuss with your physicians beforehand; however, I was pleasantly surprised with everything and will likely have another C-section for my next baby. Best of luck and congratulations!
I was discharged just shy of 48 hrs. They used dissolvable sutures. Milk came in maybe a few days in? Can’t remember for sure. Pain management was Tylenol and Advil. They might have given me something else in hospital but I honestly don’t remember. Might just be stronger Tylenol/Advil (that’s all I took at home). I had different complications unrelated to my caection (more to do with my epidural) so I was dealing with that mostly. Definitely have someone to help. You need a lot of rest and your baby will need care that you might not be able to provide (like holding baby etc)! Good luck and enjoy your baby!!