Caesarean query

[Coll]

Hello!!

I'm currently 32 weeks into our pregnancy, and all things going well, we hope to have an elective caesarean at 39 weeks (several reasons, incl. breech position and large baby already)...this will occur at Frances Perry House in Melbourne, and until then I'll continue my regular visits to the Diabetes Pregnancy Clinic at the Royal Womens Hosp in Melb.

I've read the recent posts regarding pregnancy and caesars with great interest, and was hoping to get some further tips, advice etc regarding a caesar, incl. during, recovery, when the baby is in special care, the hospital stay and once you're at home.

I'm reading up on this, as well as pumping my obstetrician with questions, but would value some info and tips from people who've actually experienced a caesar. So I would greatly appreciate any advice etc anyone's willing to give!!


Cheers

Coll :) :) :)

[Pretzel]

Hi there Coll, best of luck with the upcoming birth of your baby - believe me, it willl blow your mind!!

I had a caesarian in March this year at 37 weeks and 6 days. Having some high blood pressure, family history of pre-eclampsia, a large baby and being a large baby at birth myself, it was the safest option for us both.

The thing that surprised me the most was how quickly it all happened. Once in the surgery I had the spinal inserted (ouch!), I was laid down on the table, the screen went up and Stella was born about 10mins later. She was brought around to us and we cuddled her while I was stitched back together (took about 45 mins).

I went into recovery and was meant to only be there for about an hour but unfortunately was there for 6 hours :( I was quite unwell, not sure why, I think it was a combination of blood pressure issues/drugs reactions/diabetes etc.

Stella was in great shape, needing just a quick visit to the nursery for a check up - her blood sugar was only slightly low - they gave her 40mls of formula which brought it back up to normal and then she and my hubby relaxed in our room while waiting for me to return. She didn't need any special care at all, didn't get jaundiced or anything. I was thinking that I would be fine and she would be sick, but it was the other way around!! She weighed in at 9lb 12.5 oz or 4430 grams.

My initial days after the surgery were a bit hard as I kept passing out every time I sat up - once again, not sure why, could have been a blood pressure thing once again. But after 4 days I was up on my feet again.

I was wisely recommended to take the pain relief medication regularly which helped me feel more comfortable.

I was surprised how unstable and weak I felt in my stomach muscles - moving around in bed was quite difficult. I felt quite incapcitated. The physio visited me while in hospital and gave me some exercises to do to help strengthen them.

Once I got home I didn't drive for about 6 weeks - I was advised to start driving again once I felt strong enough to do an emergency brake and be able to turn around to look over both shoulders.

I felt a lot of numbness in the skin over my lower stomach and the skin was ULTRA sensitive - I couldn't even touch it to rub cream into it for weeks.

Over time I felt stronger, in my stomach, the things that hurt the most were coughing and sneezing.

Now, 6 months later I feel I have recovered really well (my scar is starting to fade) and I look forward to doing it all again with bubs number 2 sometime in the near future!

Please remember, this is only an account of my own experiences - I have many friends who have had caesarians (some multiple caesarians), and of course they all have their own unique story to tell :)

Keep us posted on your progress - good luck with everything

Pretzel :)

[Trish]

Hi Coll, I bet you are getting really excited the waiting is almost over.
Firstly have everything ready for your return home, ie all the baby stuff unwrapped and in reach etc. Secondly do everything you possibly can to get bubs to turn. My first was also large and breech and the bruising from that caesar was horrendous, I was black from hip to hip. My other two were not breech and the difference in pain and recovery was huge. For the actual op theres not a lot you can do apart from reading up so you are prepared mentally. once youre in theatre and the spinal is working ask them if the catheter is in. (they forgot with me the second time and believe me a full bladder pushing on all those new incisions is not fun)
Your bub will probably go to special care for at least a few hours for observation and may need to go on a glucose drip.(mine werein there 1.5 days, 4 days and 4 days ) While they are there your best option is to rest, they will bring bub to you for a feed until you are up and about (usually the next day) after that you have to walk/shuffle to the nursery yourself. Accept all offers of pain relief dont wait for it to start hurting, even if it is suppositories they offer ! Is your hospital public or private. If public be prepared to get chucked out on day 4, if its private you have no worries of that. once home keep up the pain relief for at least a few days then wean yourself of it gradually until you feel ok to go without. Dont overdo it at home, and accept all offers of help. It generally takes a couple of weeks to start feeling anywhere close to normal. I wont lie, ceasers do hurt and recovery hurts, but once bubs is in your arms the pain is forgotten. And lastly enjoy those newborn first days, when they are all soft and fuzzy. Those newborn cuddles are just the best.
Best of luck for your birth, now I feel all clucky again !
cheers Trish

[Bella]

Hi and congrats. I had two ceasers and they were both very different. Different hospitals, different aneithatists (spelling???), different size babies. My biggest piece of advice is pleeeeeeease do as the docs tell you, when they say don't do much lifting, driving bla bla bla. If you can, take it easy even more than what the docs tell you, but definately exercise at the same time. What I mean is, do lots of walking and low strain exercise, but limit your lifting. Get as much help from family, friends, neighbours etc, when it comes to lifting. My first ceaserian was a breeze, healed beautifully and quickly, but the 2nd one, I was a bit blazay, as I thought I'd recover quickly like the first one, but I got an ambilical hurnea about 6 months after it. VERY PAINFUL, worse than the ceaserians!!! One good thing about a ceaserian I found was the babies had perfectly round heads!!! Because they don't have to squeeze through no tunnel! Good Luck, let us know how you go.

[JT]

Hi there,

What an exciting and nervous time for you! I had a caesarean at 36 and a half weeks. Not planned but went into be induced and my babys heart rate began to drop. It was all very fast and the thing that hurt the most was the epidural! I was so scared I was going to feel the dr when he was cutting into me, but he assured me that would not happen! The other 'unpleasant' thing that I remember is being sooooo cold from the epidural and having to be covered in hot blankets.

After about 20 minutes I was holding my little boy in my arms. He was quite puffy from the diabetes, and his sugars were a little low, but otherwise perfectly healthy.

He did have to go into special care, and because I was at a private hospital and in perth the childrens hosp is public, which meant the day after he was born I was travelling between the two hospitals.

Yes you are sore after the caesar and it is very hard to get out of bed the very first time, but you are also very sore after a vaginal birth - and at least I could go to the toilet ok afterwards!!

Personally I would highly recommend a caesar and will be booking in for an elective one next time.

My recovery was quite quick. If you do overdo it, you will feel twinges and pull up a bit sore, but if you take it easy you should be ok. With the driving thing, they say not to drive for 6 weeks, but apart from possibly not being able to brake quickly or turn around properly, the other reason is that most insurance companies will not cover you for 6 weeks after you have had major surgery. If you get a letter from your dr stating that you are ok to drive you should be fine. I was driving after 3 weeks.

Oh and I agree with Bella about the nice round heads, you can always tell a caesar baby - haha!

Hope everything goes really well. Let us know how you go and what you have a pink baby or a blue one!!!!

JT

[Mrsmac]

Hi there
Wow, congratulations you must be so excited and nervous! I know exactly how you feel. I had both my two boys at Frances Perry via ceasars, and also went through the Diabetes Clinic at RWH. Which doctor is looking after you? I had Dr Hiscock & Alison Nankervis is my endo. All I can say about those two is Brilliant! You are in good hands there.

My first was born two years ago at 35 weeks, and I had Pre-eclampsia with HELLP syndrome - got very sick very quickly and bubs went to special care for 5 days. His sugars were very low and bad jaundice. My recovery was long and slow, being so sick didn't help towards the end of my pregnancy.

My second was born at 36 weeks, again I had pre-eclampsia (I knew the warning signs this time!) but I recovered a lot better because i didn't get so sick. He went to special care for 14 days in total and was very sick. But that's another story completely un-D related.

Anyway the best advice I can offer is take all the pain meds every 4 hours as offered (don't be brave and go without), limit your visitors while in hospital and get some rest while the brilliant nurses are caring for your baby in special care. It may be upsetting at the time but you will look back and value your rest. Get up and moving as soon as your allowed, a little bit of walking does help speed up the recovery. When you get home, don't lift anything, and as everyone else has said, get as much help as possible. Stuff the cooking and housework and enjoy this wonderful time with your baby.

A ceasar may not always be everyones ideal way of getting a baby out, but a healthy baby at the end is all that matters right? And in my experience thru the hospital and FPH, you are in wonderful hands.

Good luck! And let us know how you go!

PS Both my boys were HUGE and let me say I was relieved I didn't have to push them out!!

[Cara]

Hi Colleen,

Glad things are going well for you.

I haven't personally had a caesar but have looked after a quite women in the weeks after.

The basic advice you'll be given is to take it easy for 6 weeks afterwards and not lift anything heavy. A lot of dr's say not to lift anything heavier than a 2L bottle of milk- quite hard if you have a 4kg plus baby. You shouldn't drive during this period either-your reflexes and nerves won't be as responsive as usual for a while and your insurance won't cover you either. Definitely take the pain relief as instructed and don't scrimp on it.

Some women recover well within a few weeks, some women it takes longer for. Make sure you get in touch with the obst. or your GP if you have any concerns whatsoever about the wound healing.

Good luck

Cara (P.S. My scan went really well and it's a little boy!)

[maccas]

Congrats on your impending motherhood

I have had 3 children 1 natural and 2 by c-section, I would say the natural is easier to recover from but if you have no choice then take it as it comes, everyone will experience it different and my 2 c-sections were different.

Baby is born very quickly but takes awhile to stitch you up, you will feel tugging but shouldnt feel pain, I wont tell you my horror story as it will only make you more nervous.

All of my babies went to the nursery for 10 days but I was very unstable through my pregnancy and also have thyriod issues, my 3rd baby did the best, being a girl I say, she was out within 5 days.

Recovery is slow due to the diabetes but just take things easy and ask for pain relief, I was on a morphine infusion after the last baby, get all the help you can when you get home as it is a big change and the c-section makes things a bit harder

Good luck with it all you will be fine Im sure

[ali m]

Congrats on the upcoming arrival!
I actually perform Caesareans on women, and I still want one myself (3 risk factors - short, D, and an obstetric doctor, I haven't got a hope in hell of an uncomplicated normal delivery (assuming I ever meet a nice bloke)).
I reckon I'm pretty gentle, and my ladies are usually up roaming around comfortably by day 3. One lass (with D) was fairly sprinting around only 8 hours later. She did brilliantly.
Some women get very little pain afterwards, others quite a lot. There really shouldn't be any pain with the actual operation if the anaesthetist has done a good job, but there will probably be gross "rummaging" sensations, and a lot of pushing on the upper belly to get the baby's head or bum out.
I really think a nice calm elective Caesar is a lovely civilised way of having a bub. A brisk, efficient, uncomplicated vaginal delivery is also excellent, but this happens only to some lucky women. Often, these days, labour is long, tedious, and ends in a Ventouse or forceps. We are taught to be extremely careful about doing instrumental deliveries on mums with D, because the head may come out beautifully, the shoulders get stuck. This can be a bit of a disaster. It seems to be happening more often with non D mums too, with "better nutrition" etc.

[Coll]

Hello again and thanks everyone for the information and for sharing your experiences,

All your comments, feedback and good wishes are truly appreciated, I can assure you!!! I've heard nothing but good about FPH and also the breast-feeding clinic (BEST) so that's reassuring. To answer some of your questions:

I'll be having the baby privately - the clinic I go to is a public clinic, but for the delivery I'll be a private patient. I'm seeing Alison Nankervis, and Peter England, but Peter is on holidays the weeks I am 37/38 weeks, so he is recommending a couple of obstetricians if I need an earlier than planned delivery, I think one of them is Carolyn Hiscock (Mrs Mac?) not sure if I have the name right....

My husband Steve is taking a month off when I come home, so I'm very lucky to have that support :) I'll certainly take on board all your advice, espec. regarding pain relief as I'm a wooss in that area!

We're keeping a very open mind about everything, knowing that anything can happen, but its great to have some feedback from people who've been there and done that.

So thanks again - I'll keep you all updated!!!

Cheers

Coll :) :) :)


p.s. Cara glad the scan went well - a boy - wow!!! Stay well and maybe we'll see each other at the clinic again!!

[Cara]

Hi Coll,

Thanks and good luck to you too! I've got one more clinic visit in a few weeks before I transfer to the other hospital. I'm not 100% happy with the other hospital but am seeing the obstetrician I wanted there as well!

You stay well too!

Cara