If everything goes smoothly, the procedure takes about an hour. The baby can usually be taken out in 10 to 15 minutes, or even faster in an emergency. After the baby is delivered, the womb and the various layers of the abdomen are carefully stitched up.
The actual operation usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes. It will involve: The doctor will make a cut in your abdomen and your uterus (both about 10 cm long). Your baby will be lifted out through the cut.
Returning to Physical Activities After a C-Section
It's important to get out of bed and walk around within 24 hours after surgery.
The average hospital stay after a C-section is 2 to 4 days, and keep in mind recovery often takes longer than it would from a vaginal birth. Walking after the C-section is important to speed recovery and pain medication may be supplied too as recovery takes place.
After C-Section: The First 24-48 Hours
Again, you've just had major surgery, so fatigue and pain are to be expected. Many women also report experiencing nausea for the first few hours. Depending on the composition of your epidural, you may have some itching.
The day right after your surgery, you'll be encouraged to walk around within the first 12 hours after delivery to help relieve gas buildup in the abdomen, and to eat something light as soon as you feel able.
Women should walk for about 20 minutes at a moderate pace to increase circulation and speed up healing. Fit mothers recover quickly and can be back on their feet in a matter of weeks. Walking after a cesarean delivery is regarded as an important part of recovery exercise.
It takes about six weeks to recover from a C-section, but each person's timeline will be different. An incision — typically a horizontal cut made in your lower abdomen — can take weeks to heal. During that time, it's recommended that you avoid lifting anything heavier than your baby.
When can I go home after a c-section? You will usually stay in hospital for 2-4 days after your c-section. If you and your baby are well, and you have someone to help you at home, you may be able to go home after 24 hours.
That being said, long-term neuropathic pain (chronic pain from injured nerves) after a C-section tends to be uncommon. Normally, nerves will heal without causing lasting issues, other than perhaps some numbness around the scar. Nerve pain does not necessarily imply that anything was done incorrectly during the surgery.
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.
After a c-section, you should sleep on your back or side. This shouldn't put too much strain on your c-section wound. You can also try sleeping on your back with your head elevated. Use pillows to keep your spine aligned and take pressure off your joints.
At first you may be asked to only eat ice chips or take sips of water, at least until your provider is certain you are not likely to have very heavy bleeding. Most likely, you will be able to eat a light diet 8 hours after your C-section.
You may remove your wound dressing and take showers if stitches, staples, or glue were used to close your skin. Do not soak in a bathtub or hot tub, or go swimming, until your provider tells you it is OK. In most cases, this is not until 3 weeks after surgery.
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.
Always sit well back on a supportive chair, your feet should be able to touch the floor in order to support your posture. Use pillows to support your back and to rest your baby on your lap to bring them into a comfortable feeding position. You can then use pillows to support your own arms.
Iron-rich food helps regain the blood lost during delivery. Diet after C-section should contain spinach, quinoa, chicken, ham, turkey, dried apricots, sesame and pumpkin seeds, peanuts, roasted almonds, and sunflower seeds. Easily digestible food like yogurt, paneer, soups, broths helps in great snacking options.
A C-section requires anesthesia and you may be given general anesthesia, a spinal block, or an epidural block. General anesthesia will put you to sleep, so you will not be awake during the procedure.
After a C-section, she recommends women take eight weeks off and to avoid heavy activity to prevent complications. “A lot of women still have significant pain at two weeks after,” she said.
Remember, that first 6 weeks you are still dealing with uterus and fluid. For up to 12 weeks, muscles are naturally accommodating and shortening. C-moms can also have mild swelling up to 12 weeks.
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.
Most mothers and mothers-in-law advice a variety of dietary restrictions like avoiding milk, ghee, rice post caesarean section as according to them this can impair healing of scars. This however is just a myth and a woman can resume her normal diet within a day or two after caesarean.