Sleeping On Your Back After C-Section
If you're sleeping on your back, it is very important not to sit up directly from this position. Rolling to your side and using your arms to help you sit up will protect your recovering abdominal muscles.
Comfortable sleepwear should be a priority for every new mom. Super-soft PJs are essential nursing clothes after C-section surgery. Although nursing pajamas are usually considered night-time apparel, new moms often wear them around the clock, especially in the fourth trimester.
It's important to get out of bed and walk around within 24 hours after surgery. This can help ease gas pains, help you have a bowel movement, and prevent blood clots. You can try gentle exercises a few days after the C-section: Deep breathing: Take 2 or 3 slow, deep breaths every half-hour.
Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. You may want to take a fibre every day. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.
Walking after c-section is encouraged and should be your go to for the first few weeks. You'll start to notice day to day movement getting easier and less discomfort lifting baby or moving around.
Back sleeping is often recommended post-surgery, and it could be the most comfortable position as it doesn't put any pressure on your c-section wound.
Shower and bath: The incision is water-tight within 24 hours after surgery. The bandage should be removed one day after surgery, and the incision should remain uncovered. Your first shower can be 24 hours after surgery.
Keep the wound area clean by washing it with mild soap and water. You don't need to scrub it. Often, just letting the water run over your wound in the shower is enough. You may remove your wound dressing and take showers if stitches, staples, or glue were used to close your skin.
At first, your cut (incision) will be raised slightly and pinker than the rest of your skin. It will likely appear somewhat puffy. Any pain should decrease after 2 or 3 days, but your cut will remain tender for up to 3 weeks or more. Most women need pain medicine for the first few days to 2 weeks.
As your body heals and the pain decreases when you move around, you can slowly try bending (between weeks 4 and 6). First, bend slowly up to a few inches and stand back up. When you straighten up, you will Stretch yourself to get up.
Vaginal delivery is painful, exhausting, and physically grueling. C-section, on the other hand, is pain-free and less time-consuming. One can decide on a time for the surgery with their doctor and get the procedure done comfortably.
Shivering occurred frequently during cesarean sections, with the peak incidence occurring after skin disinfection. Anxiety, emergency delivery, and transfer from the delivery room to the operating room increased the risk of shivering development during cesarean sections.
Painful urination after a C-section
That has to do with the fact that C-sections almost always include having a catheter placed, which can cause soreness and pee pain for a day or two. If you spent time pushing before having your C-section, that can cause the same temporary symptoms too.
Doctors, traditionally, have advised women to avoid stairs after a C-section. But Kathryn Houston, a clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, shrugs off that recommendation. “Stairs are fine as long as you take them slowly,” she says.
With a cesarean birth, lifting too heavy too soon can cause your incision (either external or internal) to open, rupture, or cause other serious medical issues.
Once the baby is delivered the uterus is closed with a double layer of stitching. Four of the five remaining layers are stitched with a single layer of stitching, but one layer is not restitched as it heals better – with no buckling and reduced chance of scar tissue developing, without restitiching.
Items like carbonated drinks, citrus juices, coffee, tea, and spicy food should be avoided as they increase bloating and gas. Fermented and fried food can cause heartburn and indigestion. Since mothers are breastfeeding, such foods can affect the milk and cause growth problems in the newborn.
Gentle exercise, such as walking, will help you recover from your c-section. But avoid anything more active until you have no pain and you feel ready. For example, avoid driving, carrying anything heavy, having sex or doing heavy housework, such as vacuuming, until you feel able to.
Laughing, Sneezing, and Coughing Can Hurt—A Lot
While it's rare for your stitches to come apart, it is important to give yourself literal, physical support after a C-section. The best thing you can do when you feel like laughing—or coughing or sneezing—is to put a pillow over your stitches and press it onto yourself.
“Sometimes, after a C-section, the bowels can take some time to wake up since you've just gone through a major surgery,” explains Dr. Newlin. “It can take three or four days for your first poop after delivery.” That same timeframe holds true if you're taking opioid pain medications.