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10 Things I Wish Somebody Had Told Me About C-Sections

Published 07.21.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (29)

...or just like breastfeeding, I wish somebody had yanked the iPod buds out of my ears and given my shoulders a good hard shake while they told me.

1) You'll get "the shakes" immediately afterward. The All-Knowing Internet also calls them "the epidural shakes," but they seem to be MUCH more common after a c-section than a vaginal birth. Possibly because of the extra firepower (morphine) that's typically added to your spinal before the surgery. After my medicine was turned off post-emergency-cesarean, I started shaking uncontrollably from head to toe. My teeth chattered, my muscles quivered and jumped, and I thought I was going into shock and dying. After (REPEATEDLY) asking about why I couldn't stop shaking, a nurse curtly assured me that it was normal and epidural-related. As they wheeled me to the recovery room, they put my son in-between my legs because I couldn't hold him, and oh, I hated that.

2) Your partner might not be allowed cut the cord.. The doctor will usually cut your baby's umbilical cord, since your body is pretty much wiiiiiiide open at that point. If your baby is in any sort of distress and every second counts, it is VERY unlikely that the doctor will allow anyone else to cut the cord. For an elective section, you'll need to ask ahead of time (and remind your doctor immediately before) -- it's certainly not unheard of, though still not standard operating procedure. I was dismayed to learn that my husband didn't get a chance to cut Noah's cord, but when I asked him about making arrangements for the second time around, he actually admitted that he'd prefer if the doctor did it, rather than waste time fumbling around with it while my abdomen hung around all open and bleeding.

3) You can breastfeed in the recovery room, usually 20 to 30 minutes after the birth. I was terrified that having a c-section would mean a terrible delay on breastfeeding -- that they'd whip my baby away somewhere for hours and hours for some strange reason. The breastfeeding thing is so often given as a "con" for cesareans that I guess I was expecting a real worth-getting-worked-up-over waiting period, but basically the timeline goes like this: Baby out, handed to nurse for APGAR checks and weight, doctor starts stitching, baby is swaddled and brought over to you while stitching is completed, you're wheeled down to the recovery room, baby immediately gets put on your boob while the nurse cleans you up and does...I don't know...other important medical stuff. I wasn't really paying attention, what with the amazing new baby and all.

4) You'll have a catheter for a good 24 hours post-surgery. Yep. Enough said.

5) They won't let you eat or drink anything. AT ALL. That blasted morphine again -- a lot of women will throw up as the spinal wears off. And you know, that's terrible for them. Some of us do not throw up, but we do not get a gold star and a dinner roll for our intestinal fortitude. I was STARVING after my sections. STARVING. With my emergency section, I'd gone a good 16 hours without food, and over 12 of those hours I'd spent in labor -- 10 of them unmedicated, one of them pushing. And then I wasn't even allowed to have a glass of water. Hell, I had to beg for ice chips (which I then hoarded, allowed to melt, then greedily drank). I didn't ever really cry about anything regarding the actual surgery, but Lord have mercy, I cried over the food thing.

6) You'll be quizzed on various embarrassing bodily-function-related milestones. You aren't allowed to eat solid food until you fart; you'll have an IV until you pee a certain (rather tremendous) amount; you're (often) not allowed to go home until you poop. Don't wait for the nurses to quiz you on these events either -- you'll wait unnecessary hours alternatively starving to death and getting tangled in your IV cord if you do. I cheerfully rang for the night nurse at 3 am one night to report on my gas habits and inquired about my breakfast -- could I get pancakes? Extra butter? Coffee? GAH GAH GAH STARVING.

7) Learn the proper way to get out of bed. This was a real problem for me after my second section. I don't know why. I couldn't seem to get up without taxing my abdominal muscles and causing myself terrible pain. I think a nurse actually showed me how to get out of bed last time -- and the second time they handed me a hospital booklet about mother & baby care and told me to read it. (HINT: I didn't read it.) (Until weeks later, when I paged through it just before tossing it in the trash, only to discover a step-by-step illustrated guide to getting out of bed post-c-section.) If you want to know how to get out bed without hurting your incision, CLICK HERE.

8) Your incision will be numb for a long time. The skin around my scar never really went back to normal, sensation-wise. Touching it still feels like I'm touching someone else's body.

9) Completely terrifying-looking things can happen to your incision. A few days after coming from from the hospital, I got up one morning to go to the bathroom and felt a terrible, unmistakable popping sensation around my incision. I whipped my nightgown off to inspect my wound, fully expecting to see broken stitches and gushing blood. But everything looked...just fine. Felt fine too. But several hours later a large angry reddish-purplish spot appeared under my skin. It wasn't raised, didn't particularly hurt as much as ache, and completely freaked me out. I called the doctor, convinced that I had done something awful to myself, and found out that I had popped a small blood vessel, resulting in a hematoma. Basically, I had a really bad bruise. Because of the size and placement, mine was nothing to be concerned about and it went away on its own. Do not mess around if you notice something similar -- hematomas after c-sections can sometimes signal a more serious hemorrhage going on beneath the surface, and can also get infected. FUN!

10) The 10th rule of c-sections is that THERE ARE NO RULES. Recovering from my emergency c-section was a breeze. I felt great. I was up and out and wearing my cutest (maternity) dresses within a couple days. It was the scheduled one that kicked my ass, the one that was supposed to be "easy" and "stress-free" and "convenient." Don't let anyone (including me!) scare you to death with their story of woe and agony and infected incision sites. Alternately, don't let anyone (me! meeee!) tell you how fantastic it all ways and downplay the fact that it is major abdominal surgery and should be respected as such. And by "respected" I mean "you get waited on hand and foot by the rest of your family and brought a steady supply of Milano cookies."

Related Article:
* Afterbirth & Aftermath: The First Few Days Postpartum
* Postpartum Differences From One Pregnancy to the Next: Like Snowflakes, In a Way
* With Childbirth, You Can't Always Get What You Want


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Comments (29):

Jenny said:

I haven't had a baby, but I have had a ruptured appendix and that surgery. So I can relate to a lot of the tips, especially the 'passing gas' one. If I was asked once, I was asked a thousand times about if I had passed gas, when I had passed gas, etc. I wasn't really passing gas and finally just started kind of lying about it. When I had been home for a day or two, I finally started passing gas and realized what they had meant. I found the easiest way to get out of bed was to kind of roll out and use a pillow to stabilize my stomach. It was an adventure, for sure to get out of bed. One piece of advice I'd give is to not play the hero in regards to the pain meds. Take the pain meds. They are there for a reason. You'll walk around more if you take the pain meds and if you walk around more you'll heal faster.

I did come out of my surgery with a lot of appreciation for those of you that have had c-sections.

Posted on July 21, 2009 10:09

rachel said:

I would like to admit that I was sad when they took my catheter out. After the last two months of pregnancy where I peed nearly constantly I loved that thing. Sad, I know.

(I recovered really quickly from the emergency c-section too--sometimes I wonder if it's because I didn't have time to read too much and freak myself out.)

Posted on July 21, 2009 10:36

Claire said:

Though the shakes directly after giving birth can be epidural or c-section related, don't expect to not get them if you have a natural birth. I had absolutely no drugs in my system (I did get local anesthetic to my girlie-parts for stitches after tearing, but that isn't a system-wide thing) and I still shook uncontrollably.

It kind of makes sense though: you haven't eaten for hours, you're fatigued as you'll ever be, and in my situation you were just in A LOT OF PAIN. Makes sense to shake.

Posted on July 21, 2009 11:13

Karen said:

I thought I was dying after my c-section, too. The shakes so bad it hurt, and so so so so cold. I think my blood pressure went really low? They gave me epinephrine (sp?) and it helped.

I also cheerfully alerted the staff when I farted. I believe I rang the bell and when the nurse said "Yes?" over the intercom I asked/yelled, "Who do I tell that I farted so I can have breakfast?"

I had been in labor 30 hours before the section. 24 hours unmedicated. 17 hours of labor in the hospital and not allowed to eat. I snuck a granola bar, though. By the time they let me have a liquid diet I was sucking down the jello and broth like it was going out of style.

I was so happy that I farted in time to get the hospital's Thanksgiving dinner because it just wouldn't be thanksgiving on Jello and broth.

And ok, this is horrifying, but am I the only person in the world who discovered clots and a looooong piece of membrane hanging out of her vag 11 days post-section?? AGAIN with the thinking I'm dying.

Posted on July 21, 2009 11:17

Karen said:

On the other hand, I did NOT recover extremely quickly from my emergency section, and chalked it up to going through 30 hours of labor, nearly pushing the baby out, and THEN being cut open and having the (very stuck) baby un-stuck from my pelvis by means of a couple of docs practically standing on my chest to unwedge her. I did get out of the hospital early but I was pitifully slow and pained and not at all in any way "cute".

I was unable (because of my blood pressure) to be raised up enough to breastfeed for a couple of hours, but nobody whisked the baby away - she was in the room with me, pitifully rooting around on my parents and partner, while I was flat on my back. We're now 8 months into a veeeery happy and successful nursing relationship. No issues.

Posted on July 21, 2009 11:23

bessie.viola said:

When the call was made for my emergency c-section, I was pretty well-prepared from Amy's account on her Amalah blog. I was unprepared for immediately getting sick on entering the OR (from the morphine/epi). If you feel nauseous, just shout it out - someone will be RIGHT there to hold a basin to your head.

Also, I was unprepared for how quickly I'd be taken back to my room. I still felt wholly unprepared and was panicking a bit. I was bf'ing as well, so I had to unlatch her and then she SCREAMED all the way upstairs. So, word of advice? Speak up. I should have just asked to stay until she was finished as post-op was NOT busy (it was 9pm). Just speak up, the nurses want to help (mostly ;).

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:30

chiquita said:

I had a liquid diet pretty soon after getting out of recovery. Of course it all came back up... so it was a mixed blessing.

And, someone did tell me this, but it bears repeating: if you wanted a vaginal birth but ended up with a C-section, you are not a failure. Healthy mom and healthy baby= success.

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:33

Selfish Mom said:

I have 3 to add, two good and one not so much. Having been through both a vag and a C-section, I'm honestly not sure which I'd choose if I had another kid. 1) You get really good drugs after a C-section. It helped a lot. 2) I wish I had known that I wouldn't be able to drive for two weeks after my C-section. 3) I wanted to have sex again waaay quicker after the C-section, since the "relevant area" did not feel like it had rug burn.

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:34

heidi said:

After 4 c-sections I can say that what surprised me most was how difficult it was to get the babies out once I was opened up. They had 2 nurses pushing down on the first, forceps with the 2nd and vacuumed the 3rd out. #4 was the only one who didn't require serious intervention.

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:39

Angela said:

The thing I wish I'd known... that the extra kick they put in my epidural for that lasting pain relief would not just have the side effect of "making my nose itchy" but would drive me absolutely bananas with the insanely itchy nose, to the point where I had to have them give me something else to reverse it. It was beyond itchy folks. I'm sure not everyone has that reaction, but DAMN! I will not be having that drug next time.

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:41

annettek said:

#8 - Yes! I didn't know about the numbness. 6 years later and I still can't feel the skin between the scar and my belly button!

As for #10, yeah, I wish I had known that it might not be all that bad. My recovery was soooo much easier than I had expected after hearing lots of c-sec horror stories.

Posted on July 21, 2009 12:55

Catherine S said:

While I was not prepared for the CS itself, I found that I knew more than I thought that I did about the process. Too much watching baby shows on TLC I guess:) What I was not at all prepared for was the "healing ridge." Don't know if any of you had it, but I had this weird largish bump thing above my incision. It totally freaked me out!! At my 4 week appt my OB said it would go away gradually. Holy god am I glad that she was right. It is still there a tiny bit, but if that small bit never goes away, I am fine with it. But I did spend 4 weeks freaking out and doing math trying to figure out how I would pay for the sugery to fix it, ha!

Posted on July 21, 2009 14:29

CinD said:

A few things I've noticed after 2 C's (1 emerg., 1 planned)

1. Look UP when getting up -- I focused on the corner of the ceiling and it really helped.

2. If you have the epi w/ the additional kicker that Angela had -- take the IV Benedryl the second you get itchy!! It makes a huge difference. I'm still laughing at pictures of me scratching my neck and nose and getting red patches because "no, it's not that bad yet...." (uhhh....it really is!!!)

3. Getting one of those compression bands really helps -- not only with incision pain (especially while laughing and coughing!), but I also felt it helped my body recover quicker.

4. TAKE THE STOOL SOFTENER -- ASK FOR IT!!! Oh my God!!!!!!!

And - I was able to have a liquid diet right after (and kept it down) and could breastfeed right away.

Posted on July 21, 2009 15:05

Olivia said:

Oh Angela, the itching drove me batshit insane. I'd also add the extreme swelling and sweating due to all the saline they pumped into me, and my incision started "weeping" a few days after. My midwife said it was normal, but it was damn gross.

No. 5 made turned me into a whiny baby. I had labored for over 24 hrs, most of it drug free, when it was time to push. I seriously BEGGED for a few crackers so I could have more energy for pushing. I felt fine with the epidural, but the hunger pains were making me sick.

And, No. 6, I wish I had been asked about pooping. I went home without having done it, and ended up very constipated. When I finally pooped it was almost like giving birth, but without the fun baby in the end.

Posted on July 21, 2009 15:10

Meredith said:

Not sure if this goes under C-section or breastfeeding, but here it goes: your milk is more likely to come in a few days later than the timeframe the nurses give for a vaginal birth. I didn't know that so freaked out when my milk hadn't come in by the 4th day. Finally, my SIL who had had 3 C-sections mentioned it to me and all was well with the world. (Came on the 5th day). And thank you for linking to the how to get up guide! I wish I had it 21 months ago....

Posted on July 21, 2009 16:20

wallydraigle said:

You know what else they don't tell you? The phrase "spinal block" is misleading. "Block" makes you think that it blocks pain, right? WRONG. I'm sure it would have hurt much more without the spinal block, but I felt like I was being eviscerated.

I felt dramatically better almost right away, just a couple weeks after coming home. I healed pretty fast. But I didn't realize how long total recovery took until I was looking back on it. My daughter was about 5 or 6 months old before I started feeling like my old self again. And this had nothing to do with sleep deprivation. She's been a superb sleeper from the start.

I started labor around 7am on Monday. It was all fine and dandy and okay until about 5 or 6 pm, and that's when the back labor started. I COULDN'T eat. Just brushing my teeth before leaving for the hospital got me sick. And then I had to brush again. I valiantly kept my gorge down that time. Anyway, I probably stopped eating around 4 pm on Monday and didn't have the baby until 7 pm the next day. And THEN they wouldn't let me eat until the next morning. So I went 36 hours with no food. I was ready to start strangling some nurses.

It's a good thing they didn't make me poop before leaving the hospital because I would have stayed an extra day and a half. I can't believe I'm telling the Internet this, but I FINALLY pooped for the first time almost one whole week after I'd started labor. Colace? COMPLETELY USELESS, TYVM. I would have appreciated some warning about the constipating effects of oxycodone, dear hospital. They didn't tell me about it until a day before I was discharged, when they started giving me colace with every round of meds. Why they did not start from day one is a mystery to me. The only thing I did not like about my hospital stay.

Posted on July 21, 2009 16:47

Someone Being Me said:

I don't know which was worse the crazy itching or the shaking post-epidural. I didn't have either with my first c-section but with that one the medication wore off as soon as I got to recovery and I got to scream for an hour while they tried to get a hold of the doctor. Fun times. Both my recoveries were pretty easy though. I didn't get to see my son for several hours though post c-section although I was so shaky and itchy I didn't mind. I was glad they got me all settled in my post-partum room before they brought him to me.

Posted on July 21, 2009 18:49

Beth said:

I wish someone had told me how ridiculously, grossly, insanely difficult and weird and embarrassing it would be to poop afterward(immediately and for weeks). I mean, sure, I didn't know I'd be having a c-section but I had read about them and not once did any source even gloss over that disgusting information.

Posted on July 21, 2009 21:57

Cheri said:

I had the uncontrollable shaking BEFORE the epidural was started with the first baby. No c section, but I also was warned about the stool softener, which the hospital gave out each day,and gave me some to take home. With the second baby, I had uncontrollable shakes with each contaction after I had the epidural. which stopped working omg after about 1 1/2 hours I'm not kidding.

Posted on July 22, 2009 07:20

Cecily T said:

I had the shakes after a completely IV/med-free birth...same way...could barely hold the new baby, freezing my ass off after sweating over the pushing.

Posted on July 22, 2009 11:41

-R- said:

Just FYI:
I was allowed to drink clear liquids (water, apple juice, cranberry juice) probably 30 minutes after my c-section.

And I wasn't hungry at all even though I hadn't eaten anything for about 32 hours. I think I was too amped up to be hungry.

I think this is common practice, but maybe my hospital was weird - I had to wear these weird boots while I was in bed, and they massaged my calves to keep me from getting blood clots. They didn't bother me except after the catheter came out and I could not get out of bed to go to the bathroom. (Don't worry; I did make it in time, but it was close.)

Posted on July 22, 2009 12:52

Marnie said:

Yes! The pooping! Take the stool softeners and make sure you get some for the road. I took those for a couple weeks before I was comfortable going "au naturel."

And, YES! The ITCHING! Didn't start until recovery, but I kept asking my husband to please get that strand of hair away from my nose and forehead, and he continued to look at me like I was insane until the nurse clued us in that it was a reaction to the meds. I don't know if that caused it, or if it would have happened anyway, but I am now insanely allergic to narcotics. Can't even take cough medicine with codeine without scratching myself bloody. I'd make a horrible drug addict.

And, wallydraigle, I think you might have the same condition my SIL has. It only affects a very small percentage of people, but for those people, the block doesn't work like it should. When they started cutting her, she nearly sat straight up and was in pain the whole time. Most of us don't experience it that way. If you ever have surgery again, I would strongly recommend mentioning that to your doc.

Posted on July 23, 2009 00:52

paranoid said:

An aside to #3 -- ASK YOUR HOSPITAL about their policies on who can have the baby and when while you're getting stitched up. At the hospital where my first daughter was born, their policy is that the baby stays in the nursery until Mom is moved to a post-partum room. If it's a busy night on the L&D ward, that can translate into an hours-long delay until a postpartum room opens up. DH was furious that he had to watch DD lie alone in the nursery for two hours before we were allowed to hold her and I was allowed to nurse. To this day, I'm convinced that's a large part of why nursing my first daughter was so hard.

We ended up switching OBs and hospitals at 37.5 weeks, and the new hospital was a lot kinder in its policies. DD2 was nursing within 20 minutes of her birth, and she didn't leave our sight until she was a full day old. My (wonderful) L&D nurse was horrified to learn that we'd been separated from our first daughter at the other hospital.

Oh, and if you're given a choice between a spinal and an epidural -- go for the spinal! Mine was lovely, totally effective, I didn't end up too shaky and neither I nor DD2 were at all groggy after the c-section.

Posted on July 23, 2009 20:26

wallydraigle said:

Marnie, that's really interesting. It never occurred to me that things weren't working the way they should. I'd gotten an epidural 13 hours earlier that had worked beautifully, and they just kept that in for the spinal block. I guess I assumed that, since the epidural worked fine, the block was working fine and I was just a baby. :) I'll mention it to my OB at my next appointment.

Posted on July 24, 2009 12:58

Michelle Pixie said:

Oh the shaking! How I hate the shaking, it made me crazy... I thought it would never quit. I've had three c-sections. One epidural and two spinals ~ Epidural was the worst and I would rather have the spinal but I shook more with the spinal then the epidural.

First c-section was an emergency and recovery wasn't too bad after 24 hours of labor. Second c-section was scheduled and recovery was much easier. My third c-section was scheduled but I went into labor two days early so I had a c-section before I was prepared and recovery from that was the worst! I don't know if it is from the 12 hours of contractions at home telling myself it would go away because I still had laundry and grocery shopping to do before I brought home a new baby or the spinal headache that lasted for 6 days after delivery but all I know is that I never EVER want to go through that again!

But then I look at my beautiful little ones and it was worth it. :)

Posted on July 26, 2009 09:54

Heather Lessiter said:

Something else they don't warn you about is putting on your seatbelt when you head home from the hospital. You'll most likely have to hold the lap part of the belt away from your body for a couple of weeks or so to keep it from pressing against your incision.
I apologize if anyone has covered this- I didn't read all of the other comments. :o)

Posted on July 26, 2009 20:46

Stacie @ newmommyhelp.net said:

I wish I had seen this list a few years ago. Or, maybe it's better not to know?

Out of 4 children, each birth was entirely unique. All recoveries were different from the C-sections, but I will say that the sooner you can stand and begin walking, the quicker the recovery.

Posted on July 27, 2009 14:26

Stacy said:

And here's the difference between Europe and America -- they actually bring you herbal tea, boullion, and little bland cookies to eat while you are in labor. When I told them that people have to beg for ice chips in America, the midwife looked at me and was all "huh? why? how would you keep your energy up for pushing?" and I was like - uh yeah. No clue. But keep the tea coming! I did actually puke it all up several times, and I had an IV, but they kept offering it to me anyway. Also! The brought me fully caffiennated coffee and breakfast the next morning without any of this hoo-ha about farting and "caffeine!!! NOOO!!!!" bullshit. I even had two cups people! Of coffee!! And then I nursed my baby. Oh yeah, bring on the haters. I had a c-section after 14 hours of active labor with oxytocin, because my pelvic bones were not opening up and poor little baby was pooping and distressed and seriously cone-headed from being smooshed into my pelvis. I hated the shakes after the surgery. I was so tired and shaky and couldn't hold the baby, even though they kept laying her on my chest and I kept making my husband to remove her, much to the midwife's dismay. I'm not sad I had a c-section, that's what was medically neccessary for me. I have a healthy happy EBF 6 month old and I feel great.

Posted on August 20, 2009 05:24

Alias Mother said:

Oh, this is so fascinating. My C-section was an emergency, and I actually recovered pretty quickly, but there were definitely things that I wish I'd known about. Others have mentioned it but, the itching nearly made me crazy. My entire body felt like it was covered in itching powder. Horrifying. And I also had to wear those stupid massaging boots to prevent blood clots, so I couldn't move. Between the itching, the massage boots, the noise of the boots, being strapped in so I couldn't move, and the hormone rush having a baby, I didn't sleep a single second that first night.

However, my hospital didn't make me wait to fart until I ate, though they were very interested in my bodily functions. I also wasn't expecting every nurse, CNA, and doctor who stopped by to yank up my gown to check my incision. Ah, dignity. You were sadly missed during that experience.

Posted on August 24, 2009 14:53

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