Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Recovery in the hospital
• Part 2 of 2: Recover at home
• Tips
• Warnings

A caesarean section is the surgical birth of a child. A caesarean section is a major operation and recovery afterwards takes longer than recovery after a vaginal birth and also requires specific techniques. If you have had a caesarean section without complications, you can assume that you will have to stay in the hospital for three days and that you will have bleeding, discharge and most wound care after four to six weeks. With the right nursing and treatment care, support from your family and friends, and self-care around the house, you will most likely just recover on schedule.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Recovery in the hospital

1. Go for a walk. You will probably be in the hospital for a day or two or three. You will probably be asked to stand and walk within 24 hours. Walking prevents the typical side effects of a caesarean section, such as constipation and gas in the abdomen, as well as more dangerous side effects such as blood clots. Nursing or care monitors your movements.
   • In the beginning it is often very uncomfortable to walk, but the pain slowly but surely diminishes.
2. Ask for help with feeding. Once you feel well enough, you can start breast or bottle feeding your baby. Ask the nurse or lactation consultant to help you position yourself and your baby so that there is no pressure on your healing tummy. Maybe a pillow is useful.
3. Ask about vaccinations. Ask your doctor about preventative care, such as vaccination, to protect your baby and its health. If your vaccinations are not up to date, your time in the hospital is a good time to update them.
4. Stay clean. During your stay in the hospital, keep your hands clean and don't hesitate to ask doctors or nurses to clean their hands before touching you or your baby. Hospital infections such as MRSA can be kept out by simply washing your hands.
5. Make a follow-up appointment. After you leave the hospital, you must make a follow-up appointment with your doctor within four to six weeks (or even sooner).
   • Some patients come a few days after discharge from the hospital to have the staples removed or to have a look at the incision.

Part 2 of 2: Recover at home

1. Rest. If possible, sleep at least seven to eight hours a night. Sleep promotes tissue growth, which helps your wounds heal. Sleep also lowers your stress level, which reduces inflammation and improves your overall health.
   • Sleeping all night with a baby is not easy! Ask your partner or other adults in the house to get up at night. If you are still bedridden they can bring the baby to you. Keep in mind that sometimes the baby rumbles in the night just pass away again; listen for a few seconds before getting out of bed.
   • Take as many naps as possible. If your baby is sleeping for a while, take a nap too. If you have visitors who want to see the baby, ask them to watch the baby while you take a nap. That's not rude: you are recovering from surgery.
2. Drink a lot. Drink water and other fluids to replenish the fluid you lost during labor and to prevent constipation. Your fluid intake will be monitored in the hospital, but once you get home you have to make sure you drink enough. If you are breastfeeding, keep a glass of water on hand.
   • There is no set amount of water that a person should drink every day. Drink so much that you are not always dehydrated and thirsty. If your pee is dark yellow, you are dehydrated and you need to drink more water.
   • In some cases, your doctor may advise you to reduce or not increase your fluid intake.
3. Eat good. Nutritious meals and snacks are especially important when you are recovering from surgery. Your digestive system is also recovering from surgery, so you have to adjust your normal diet a bit. If you have a troubled stomach, eat mild, low-fat foods such as rice, grilled chicken, yogurt, and toast.
   • When you're constipated, you need to eat more fiber. Before you really start eating a lot more fiber or fiber supplements, talk to your doctor.
   • Continue to take your prenatal vitamins to further promote recovery.
   • Cooking can sometimes involve heavy lifting and bending over. If you have a partner, family member, or friend who can take care of you, ask them to cook for you or organize a cooking schedule.
4. Walk a little further every day. Just like in the hospital, you have to keep moving. Try to walk more and more by going a few more minutes each day. This does not mean that you should exercise! Do not cycle, run, or do strenuous exercise for at least six weeks after your Caesarean section, at least not without talking to your doctor.
   • Avoid climbing stairs as much as possible. If your bedroom is upstairs, get a place to sleep on the ground floor during the first few weeks of your recovery, or if that doesn't work, at least limit the number of times you have to go up and down the stairs.
   • Avoid lifting anything heavier than lifting your baby, do not squat to lift anything.
   • Avoid sit-ups or any other movement that puts pressure on your injured abdomen.
5. Take pain medication as needed. Your doctor may recommend acetaminophen, such as Tylenol. Most pain medications can be taken while breastfeeding, but you should avoid aspirin or aspirin-containing pills for the first 10 to 14 days after surgery, as aspirin reduces blood clotting. Pain regulation is very important to a nurturing parent because pain influences the production of hormones necessary for the flow of milk.
6. Support your abdomen. By supporting your wound you reduce the pain and also the risk of the wound opening again. Hold a pillow against the incision when you cough or take a deep breath.
   • Belly compression garments, or "belly ties," have not been found to be useful. Talk to your doctor before putting pressure on your incision.
7. Keep the incision clean. Wash it every day with warm water with soap and pat dry. If strips of tape are stuck over your incision, let them fall off on their own or remove them after a week. You can bandage the wound with a gauze bandage if it is comfortable or if moisture is coming out of the wound, but make sure to change the bandage every day.
   • Do not use lotion or powder on the incision. Rubbing, scrubbing, soaking, or sunbathing your incision slows recovery and you run the risk of the wound opening again.
   • Avoid cleaning products that slow down recovery time, such as hydrogen peroxide.
   • Shower as usual and pat the incision dry when you are done. Do not bathe or swim; just don't submerge your incision in any way.
8. Wear loose clothing. Put on loose, soft clothes that do not press against the incision.
9. No sex for a while. After a caesarean section or a vaginal delivery, your body will need four to six weeks of recovery before you can engage in most forms of sex again. After a Caesarean section, it may even take a little longer for you to fully recover. Wait until your doctor says it is safe to have sex again.
10. Wear sanitary pads because of possible vaginal bleeding. Even without a vaginal delivery, you will have bright red vaginal bleeding in the first month after birth, lochia or called maternal flooding, experiencing. Do not use a douche or tampon as this can lead to infection until your doctor says you can.
    • If you have a lot of vaginal bleeding or if it smells bad, or if you get a fever above 38 ° C, you should call the doctor.

Tips

• Many people say that a truly natural broth, especially with marrow bone, can increase the speed of recovery.
• After you have had surgery, you make new skin. New skin is prone to scars, so keep it out of the sun for at least six to nine months after surgery.

Warnings

• If the stitches come off, go to the doctor immediately.
• Call the doctor if there is evidence of infection around the incision. This includes fever, increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness, red streaks from the incision, pus, and swollen lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, or groin.
• If your stomach is tender, full, or hard, or if it hurts to urinate, you could have gotten an infection.
• Call 911 if you have severe symptoms such as fainting, severe stomach pain, coughing up blood, or severe breathing problems.
• Call the doctor if your breasts are sore and you have flu-like symptoms.
• If you feel down, tearful, hopeless, or are experiencing dark thoughts after giving birth, you may have postpartum depression. This is completely normal and is experienced by most women. Contact your doctor.