Pregnancy Forums

Posted: 20 March 2006 at 7:11pm | IP Logged

Sam has done an article on C-sections (click on articles on the menu bar) and its fantastic!! Well done Sam I am!! I certainly wish I'd known this before I had mine.

I thought it would be useful to have this thread for people to add their experiences to and to act as re-assurance or a question/answer thread for those who are expecting.

So here I go..

My section was an emergency section due to Ella being wedged sideways and a failed induction. I hate hospitals and was terrified of any kind of surgical procedure - and I can honestly say it was NOTHING TO BE SCARED OF!! The surgical team were lovely and made me feel very comfortable. My top tips to add are:

• If you are given the choice between staples or stitches - have stitches!! The staples can pull when you are trying to move as they are not as flexible.
• If they put a plastic dressing over the wound, soak it off in a bath - it comes away really easy in a bath and is far preferable to having a midwife do it!
• If you are planning to breastfeed, some hospitals offer a hormone injection to simulate the hormone rush in a natural delivery that tells your body to kick start the milk supplies! It might be worth discussing this with your midwife.
• If you are having a planned section, some hospitals will allow you to bank your own blood should you need any after the section. Again, not all hospitals do this.
• Big pants and prune juice are your best friends.........

That's all I can think of at the moment. I know that there's a good few people on here who have had sections so hopefully people will have some good tips!

Posted: 20 March 2006 at 8:10pm | IP Logged

oooh I've not read it yet but my section was nothing as bad as I feared either....

my tip about the sticky thing they put over your scar is to try to somehow get the sticky stuff off at the same time as you take the patch off - mine stayed really sticky and then the fluff off my brand new massive black knickers all stuck to it and I had a black shape all round mine for ages - I had to get it off with "sticky stuff remover" in the end lol

and it feels much better when the stitches come out!

Posted: 28 April 2006 at 11:43am | IP Logged

I ended up with a C-section and I really didn't want one but it wasn't as bad as I thought. 

One thing I will say though is that at times I thought (and my DH has agreed with me) that I started to do too much too quickly.  So my tip would be to listen to your body and take your time over things, if you don't feel ready to do something then get someone to help and don't rush it, def for the first 6 weeks to 2 months. 

I was driving after 10 days (after checking with insurance and doctor) but I think I should have waited at least another week.  Also started to walk the dog after 5 weeks because I was concerned about his weight gain cos he wasn't getting enough exercise with DH and again I should have waited a couple more weeks, so just be sensible.  You'll be surprised how quickly you want to do things though.

I still say to my husband now sometimes if he is nagging me 'Remember I had major surgery 11 months ago...' although I have to admit it's wearing a bit thin now but it's worth the laugh I get from him. 

Nicki

Posted: 07 August 2006 at 11:28pm | IP Logged

Kia-ora everyone!!

My First baby was born naturally, My second was suppose to be born naturally as well, but after 21 hours of labour, at 9 and a half centimetres, he was getting distressed, and next minute, im skeduled in for a c-section..I can remember being a little scared, but i was tired and he needed to come out, i think deep inside i new i was gonna have one, thats why i read about it so much, even thou i was suppose to have a natural birth! In the beginning I wanted a drug-free birth NO DRUGS AT ALL....but that didnt work, baby's head was facing the other way causing me to get the urge to push, and i was only 5 cm dilated! so i had to have an epidural, so i couldnt feel those urges!

The c-section itself was very relaxing and relieving, although my body was shaking like anything, as one of the side-effects, im sure i was just about jumping outta bed!

the ice was quite funny too, cold....haha one funny thing was one of the lady's (cant remember who) told me to move my leg over, and to tell her when ive done so, when i did i told her, she looked at me and sed good, i then looked at my legs, and they hadn't moved one bit at all....she said good its working! i smiled!!! but i was so sure my leg had moved, but it was so darn numb, that it didnt!

everything in the theatre went great! no problems at all, baby was born 1.38am 25 october 2006 (he was due on the 17th) got cleaned, cheked, weighed, he was good, 8 pound 3 he was.....very cute i must say....and as with every c-section, u gotta stay in the hospital for 5 days....but not with me, i had to stay in there for 2 weeks! I dont no if they didnt clean him out properly when he was born, or if he had swollowed it earlier, coz he kept on throwing up green and yellow stuff after birth for like 3-5 days after until finally they thought he needa a checkup to see why he was doing that! dumb people i must say! another thing he wasnt latching on properly, and drinking wasnt going so good, he was hungry but something was holding him back....in the end.....he had all this fluid (amnotic fluid) in his lungs, and he had a chest infection!!!! so he was  incubated, given injections after injections, they had to watch him, i was woken up to give him feeds, he had tubes all over him, and it didnt matter if he didnt take the breast coz he was on the drip, but i still expressed milk, and it was fed through the tubes! so he still good the goodness out of the milk! when we got home 2 weeks later, coz i wasnt allowed to go home till he got better! oh happy happy joy joy! we all got back on track, i missed my partner, i missed being home! he slowly got use to breast feeding..and by the time he got use to it, i had to stop, and give him the bottle with formula, coz i had run out of milk! it wasnt enough to fill him up, becoz he was only drinking from 1 side.......the other side had problems from the start and nothing would come out, i had midwife after midwife trying to make the milk flow, i had a lactation consultant, and still nothing would work! but i still put him on there, i tried expressing, all i could make it, was bleed! the midwife said still make him drink it, becoz its from my breast...i was like EWWW NO F****N WAY THATS JUST GROSE! i ended up tipping it out! i wasnt gonna make my baby drink that! so i ended up breast-feeding till about 2-3 months, then i was onto formula...the first 2 he hated, then we found the one he liked, and he's still drinking it now......he is 9 months now, really happy, talking lots he thinks he's the man of the house!! His brother will be 4 in february, and now he will have a little brother or sister...im 2 months pregnant number 3 at 23 years old, buggah me lol.....but i am looking forward 2 it once again...hoping its a girl this time! hope i have it naturally, although a c-section is the easiest way!!! but im looking to go home tha same day i gave birth or maybe the day  after......i have always loved hospitals till i had by baby and had 2 stay in there for 2 weeks! they just peeved me right off....the sooner the better for me anywayz!!

anyone want to no anything, to chat or anything, please do send me a message or anything,or even email me....

sweet_thugz_strawberriez@hotmail.com

I am Shaye, from New Zealand, im here for anyone in need!

Cheers

Posted: 08 August 2006 at 8:44am | IP Logged

Just realised I havent added my 2 pence worth! (Although most of you have seen my birth story).

I had an emergancy c section at 37+5weeks due to the morphine I was taking for my spd affecting the babies heartbeat. I was rushed into labour ward (from anti natel ward) at 2am and then a consultant came to sit with me to check the baby. SOmehow it calmed down (considering by this point my heart was pounding) so after a long talk about my spd (ie me explaining it to her) she gave me some sleeping pills and told me it was going to be a longday and to sleep.

I woke up and they strapped me back to the machine. Telling me there was already a scheduled c section that morning and I would go through til at least midday so I told all my family to go to work. 20 mins later the machine was checked and they decided I needed him out now and started scrubbing me up. I was so thankful an old school friends mum worked on the ward as she kept me calm! Someone called Tony and them I was wheeled through. I remember loads of people being there and a big man being lovely and holding my hand as the spinal block went in. I dont know who he was but he stayed at my side until Tony arrived. As they put the block in I was warned that the feotal heartrate had dropped and he'd probably be floppy and need resus! I was so scared but then tony was there holding my hand and the next thing I knew they were lifting a screaming little boy from me.

I remember feeling them routing around in my tummy afterwards and I felt really uncomfortable, like the spinal block wasnt high enough for where their hands were, but it was bearable. I wanted to be the first to hold my baby but I had to wait until I was back in recovery then they put him to my breast. It didnt affect me bonding with him at all and my recovery was fab, but mainly down to the spd going with the spinal block leaving me ultra mobile!

The scar has practically gone 16 months downt the line. I am desperate to try a VBAC next time though and I want to discover the experience of a natural birth!

Posted: 08 August 2006 at 8:56am | IP Logged

I had an emergency section with jess after a long labour and I have to say it was a much better experience than I could ever thought it would be.

I had a very strange nylon thread running along my cut with a little ball either end, this was so easy to remove and not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

I am looking at another section this time and no where near as worried as I was the 1st time.

The biggest surprise for me was how soon i was up and out of bed...I had jess at 11.16pm and was in the shower by the next lunch time even after a very long labour, epidural and a spinal block.