It seems ridiculously unfair to have to recover from major abdominal surgery while simultaneously caring for a newborn. On the other hand, cesarean delivery is an incredible modern marvel — one I will forever be grateful for. One of our good friends is an anesthesiologist and during pregnancy, he mentally prepared me for the possibility a c-section. He explained the differences between an epidural and spinal tap, how they would perform the surgery, how long it would take, and what to expect after. I’m the type of person that feels better when I know all the details so this was invaluable.
My son was breech my entire pregnancy and while we planned to perform an external cephalic version (ECV), I fainted less than a week before my due date and was no longer a good candidate for the procedure. Three days before our due date, we proceeded with a c-section and it went as smoothly as surgery can.
In the recovery room, I quickly realized I didn’t have anything in my hospital bag to aid in recovery. The hospital was surprisingly not helpful either — all of the supplies they provided were geared towards a vaginal delivery. So whether you have a planned c-section or you want to be prepared for the possibility of one, here are some of the products and tips I wished I had/knew ahead of time:
Be ready to be your own advocate! I told my medical team ahead of the surgery that I’m allergic to opiates so they gave me other pain medication that wasn’t supposed to make me sick. As it turns out — I’m extremely sensitive to ALL pain medication. It took less than 10 minutes in the recovery room for me to start getting nauseous and throw up. In my 35 years on earth, throwing up with an abdomen incision definitely ranks in the top five worst experiences (maybe #1). As I continued to get sick every 10-15 minutes, I told the nurses I thought the intravenous pain meds were the culprit. They assured me that they weren’t giving me opiates and so I couldn’t be getting sick. After what seemed like hours of throwing up, my husband stepped in and basically demanded they stop giving me those meds. Within 30 minutes, the nausea stopped.
Because of my sensitivity to pain medication, I also opted to only take over the counter pain medication once we were home. This certainly wouldn’t work for everyone but I’m grateful that my anesthesiologist friend told me it was an option. It also made me feel a lot better about transferring medication through breast feeding.
I honestly have no idea why all hospitals don’t supply Postpartum Compression Bands (https://amzn.to/4eUb78g) but it was the single most helpful thing to have ordered once I was home. I used this for several hours each day and it helped my mid-section feel secure. I can’t begin to describe how awful it is to feel like your abdomen is going to re-rupture if you cough or move too much.
One of the hardest things to do during recovery was physically getting out of bed. I would awkwardly roll towards my bedside table and nearly fall on all fours before managing to hobble towards the bathroom or bassinet. I saw a trick on TikTok recently and wished I knew it before. To put it simply, you take a top sheet and tie it to the foot end of your bed frame. That way, when you need to get up, you can tug on the sheet.
Frida-Mom C-Section Silicone Strips (https://amzn.to/4bwVP6v) are fantastic for scar healing. They are waterproof, stay put in the shower, and can be reused several times. These were particularly helpful the first few times I had to wear real pants and was worried about my underwear or pants rubbing against the incision.
Because I was given a lot of intravenous fluids, I got intense swelling a few days postpartum. At one point, my ankles were pretty much invisible. I already had Quince compression socks from pregnancy and they were super helpful.
I also experienced intense changes in body temperature. I would wake up sweating and then spend most of the day shivering under blankets. I found that staying hydrated and eating soup helped a lot! My trusty 40 oz. Stanley Tumbler (https://amzn.to/3VRUt0r) was always by my side.
Lastly, make sure to give yourself as much grace as possible. Accept and ask for help from your partner in ways you never imagined (yes, this can include helping you go to the bathroom). When a neighbor or friend asks if they can drop off soup or dinner, the answer should always be yes. And as you’re regaining mobility, take things S-L-O-W. I couldn’t walk more than two streets on our first walk but after a few weeks, I could walk for 15-20 minutes.
