Get plenty of rest Just like with any surgery, your body needs time to heal afterward. Expect to stay in the hospital for 2 to 4 days after your delivery. If there are complications, your stay will be longer. Give your body 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal.
We know that every patient has a different labor and delivery experience, but in general, it takes around six weeks to completely heal from your C-section. “We realize many of our patients also face the challenge of caring for the baby while they're recovering,” said Dr. Son.
After your C-section, you might look like you're still pregnant. This is normal. Most women lose 13 pounds (6 kilograms) during birth, including the weight of the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid. During your recovery, you'll drop more weight as your body gets rid of excess fluids.
Returning to exercise
Once you have recovered from your c-section and no longer have any pain, it's usually safe to start low-impact exercises, such as swimming, pilates, yoga, gentle jogging and low resistance gym work.
“I learned later that this is common, but it was still really disconcerting because it was unexpected.” Swelling after a c-section is completely normal—chalk it up to the IV fluids during surgery and those post-pregnancy hormones—and should go down after a week or so.
Some women do experience symptoms related to their C-section scar long after the operation. Some women feel pain, restriction, or a pulling sensation on or around their scar months or even years after surgery. This is normally due to the build-up of scar tissue which can stick to muscles or even organs and cause pain.
Care For Your Wound: Like any surgery, after a c-section you need to ensure you take care of your wound and stitches to avoid infection and fast healing. You can do this by making sure you keep the area dry and clean, washing the incision daily with soap and water (this can be done when you shower).
“It's recommended that you get up and walk around,” says Dr. Higgins. “We don't want someone lying in bed for two weeks.”
Since you'll receive two incisions — one in your abdomen and one in your uterus — your surgeon will close both incisions.
A new study shows that a C-section can lead to complications should you find yourself back on the operation table later in life. Surgical complications cover a range of things that can go wrong during an operation. For example, damage to organs, infection, the need to re-operate, or bleeding during the operation.
C-section pain typically spikes 18 hours after delivery.
C-section moms will have even more fluid retention due to fluids given inter-operatively. C-section moms will also have some tummy area swelling from the work they do inside the abdominal area during surgery. Again, another reason to allow some time.
In a nutshell, a C-section pouch is a 'shelf' of scar tissue that can protrude from your stomach after a C-section delivery. It usually appears near your incision scar and is often made up of a combination of scar tissue, body fat and excess abdominal skin.
Long-Term Effects of C-Sections
Children born by C-section also suffer increased rates of diseases, including asthma, type I diabetes, allergies, obesity, as well as reduced overall cognitive functioning and lower academic performance.
The cesarean delivery group in cohort 1 showed significantly lower white matter development in widespread brain regions and significantly lower functional connectivity in the brain default mode network, controlled for a number of potential confounders.
C-section babies don't come through the birth canal, so they have an edge in the looks department. Their heads come out nice and round because they don't get squeezed, and their faces don't get swollen like many babies delivered vaginally.
Some people do feel pain or numbness (or both) at their C-section scar for months or even years after the surgery.
However, from the current medical evidence, most medical authorities do state that if multiple C-sections are planned, the expert recommendation is to adhere to the maximum number of three.”
C-section Incision Pain Years Later
As nerves regrow around your incision site, you might feel cramps and pain. These c section complications can manifest even years later. However, it might be a sign of internal damage or scar tissue growing too thick.
Ideally, your doctor will cut through the same scar so that you don't have multiple scars on your abdomen and uterus. Sometimes scar tissue can be difficult to cut through but your doctor should be able to cut through it.
At the beginning of a caesarean section, six separate layers of the abdominal wall and uterus are opened individually. Once the baby is delivered the uterus is closed with a double layer of stitching.