Your first shower can be 24 hours after surgery. You can take a bath, too, but it may be too difficult getting in and out of the tub for the first 2-3 weeks. It is OK for the vagina AND/OR the incision to go underwater, including the pool. Pain Management: Ibuprofen and Tylenol are typically enough.
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.
You can have a bath or shower as usual. It is common for your wound to be slightly red and feel uncomfortable for 1 to 2 weeks. The redness may be harder to see on brown and black skin.
Also during this period, the doctor will encourage the bathing after cesarean section. Hair washing and other personal hygiene activities such as brushing teeth, washing face... do not need to be restricted.
Keeping stitches dry
Dab your stitches dry with a clean towel after washing, even if the wound area did not get wet, to ensure the area is completely dry. If your stitches get wet accidentally, simply dry the area immediately with a clean towel and make sure all the moisture around the stitches is soaked up.
Swelling after a C-section is completely normal, and gas pains can be excruciating. They should pass within a week, once your bowels are moving normally again (abdominal surgery causes them to "shut down" temporarily, so pooping after a C-section might not come easy).
You should have a shower or bath daily and keep your wound clean and dry. You should also change your sanitary towel frequently. Your vaginal blood or fluid loss should gradually decrease with time but if you have any concerns then please discuss these with your midwife or GP.
Do not lift anything heavier than your baby for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Short walks are an excellent way to increase strength and stamina. Light housework is OK. Slowly increase how much you do.
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.
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.
What is the Golden Hour? After the birth of the baby, both vaginal and c-section birth, the Golden hour consists of uninterrupted and immediate skin to skin contact, limited interventions that are not necessary, if possible and desired having delayed cord clamping, and having the first feeding of baby completed.
The biggest outcome predictor is how other scars on your body have healed. While many women will see their c-section scar thin out and gradually fade in color over time, some scars will protrude and remain reddish or purple for longer.
Discomfort while urinating can be par for the course as your body recovers from giving birth — whether you delivered vaginally or via C-section. But intense pain that doesn't ease up could be a sign of a postpartum urinary tract infection (UTI). Postpartum UTIs aren't uncommon.
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.
Even though labor and vaginal birth can be hard work, they are generally easier on a woman's body than a cesarean. Recovery after vaginal birth is usually shorter and less painful than after a C-section, and allows the woman to spend more time with her baby.
“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.
How long do you bleed for after a c-section? You will have some vaginal bleeding (called lochia) for 2–6 weeks after the birth. Bleeding sometimes lasts longer than this, but it should have stopped by 12 weeks. This bleeding happens after vaginal and c-section births.
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.
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.
Sometimes all your C-section pooch needs is time and regular massage of the scar. After 6-12 months, if that C-section shelf is still there, chances are high that it will always be there unless we treat it.