What to expect and how to hasten your recovery after delivering via a c-section

What To Do After Getting A Caesarean?

What to expect and how to hasten your recovery after delivering via a c-section.

Overview

You&rsquo;ve had your baby, and you&rsquo;re ready to go home. But before you can leave the hospital, there&rsquo;s some post-delivery care that you should take care of. In this article, we&rsquo;ll cover caesarean section (C-section) aftercare, including when it&rsquo;s time to take your catheter out and when you&#39;re ready for discharge from the hospital.

&nbsp;

recovery after  a c-section

After you have a C-section, this is the most critical period. You might feel tired, emotional, or anxious about your baby or yourself. Be sure to:&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Make Time For Yourself And Rest

<ul>
	<li>Drink water</li>
	<li>Eat healthy</li>
	<li>Do light exercises only (such <a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/how-walking-helps-you-think-bette">as walking</a>) 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Take Care Of Your Wound And Stitches (If Applicable). You Need To

<ul>
	<li>Keep your wound clean and dry</li>
	<li>Wear comfortable maternity clothes that make it easy to get in and out of bed easily. Think loose fitting tops with leggings</li>
	<li>Avoid tight clothing, such as jeans or elastic waistbands, etc.</li>
	<li>Avoid heavy lifting or carrying heavy objects, etc.</li>
	<li>Speak to your doctor if you feel there is an infection developing in your wound area (this can happen on rare occasions) 
	 
	Ask for help from friends and family members when needed 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

You might feel weak and sore for a while after your surgery. Don&#39;t worry, it is normal! Moving around would help you feel better and get the blood flowing through your body again. You might want to ask someone to help with the lifting and carrying of heavy objects until you&#39;ve fully recovered from your surgery. 
&nbsp;

Here are some useful tips for moving around:

<ul>
	<li>Care For Your Incision: You&rsquo;ll likely be in the hospital for 2-3 days. During that time, your healthcare team would ask you to do a few things to help ensure you&rsquo;re on the right track.</li>
	<li>Keep Your Incision Clean And Dry. If needed, use pads or bandages.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Avoid Placing Hot Water Bottles or heating pads over your incision area because they could increase swelling and cause pain.</li>
	<li>Do Not Lift Anything That&rsquo;s Heavy during the first six weeks following your surgery. And even after that, if there&rsquo;s something you need to move, keep it light or, better yet, ask for help!</li>
	<li>Avoid Sexual Intercourse for six weeks after having a c-section (or until advised otherwise). This is to allow your uterus and vagina to heal well before you have another child vaginally.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>After The Period Of Six Months, you might resume intercourse as normal, but again, keep it light.&nbsp; 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Stretching. It&rsquo;s a good idea to stretch your abdominal muscles and any other muscles that have been affected by the surgery.</li>
	<li>Breathing exercises. Use diaphragmatic breathing (also called belly breathing) to help relax your body and calm down after surgery.</li>
	<li>Pelvic floor exercises. They help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and support the uterus, bladder, and bowel function after pregnancy. They also improve sexuality for both men and women, increase energy levels (and thus productivity) and reduce lower back pain or sciatica symptoms by improving posture or alignment through strengthening these core muscles</li>
	<li>Walking is a great form of exercise during recovery time because it helps strengthen leg muscles while also building endurance, which is helpful if you have had stitches put in place during surgery! 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>If you notice any unusual bleeding, such as a sudden gush of blood, or if the flow of your postpartum discharge changes in colour or consistency</li>
	<li>If you experience pain or discomfort</li>
	<li>If you have a fever (above 100&deg;F) 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Note: If you have questions about your recovery that aren&rsquo;t covered here, please ask your obstetrician or midwife.&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;re concerned about anything at all whether it&rsquo;s the way your belly feels after surgery (which, by the way, should feel like it has been run over by a truck!), whether there&rsquo;s an abnormal amount of blood coming out of your vagina, whether there are signs of infection (fever, chills), etc., go see someone right away.

It&rsquo;s better to err on the side of caution than risk an infection setting in that could lead to more problems later on down the road. And even though C-sections carry risks themselves (mainly related with anaesthesia), they&rsquo;re still safer than vaginal births when it comes down to actually giving birth itself. 
&nbsp;

Just sitting back and waiting for your body to heal would get you there. But you could be up and running and taking care of your baby with the right care in no time.&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Take It Easy. It might be tempting to jump right back into your normal routine, but try to cut yourself some slack. Your body needs time to heal after having been through an invasive procedure like surgery.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t Be Afraid of taking pain medication, if necessary. If soreness is keeping you from getting quality rest at night, talk with your caregiver about options for relieving this discomfort. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Bottom Line

C-section recovery is a process. You might not feel like doing much, but it&rsquo;s important that you get up and move around as soon as possible. The more your body moves around, the sooner it will heal!

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