Maybe your baby is breach or you have placenta previa, for one reason or another you have a scheduled c-section. I remember how scary it is at first when you don't know what to expect. I was lucky to have a close friend who had a c-section a few months before I did share her experience with me, and it helped with my anxiety. Even with advanced knowledge there was still a lot that I learned as I went through my c-section. Here is what I learned when preparing for my c-section and what I wish I would have known. I hope that it can help you prepare too :)
What happens in the OR. I know it sounds scary, but your Spouse will not be with you the whole time in the OR. They will be with you for the prep before going into the OR and after in recovery, but they won't be with you when you start or end of your c-section. Here is the basic rundown, so you're prepared. Once they had me ready to go for surgery, they took Grant to put scrubs on and had me walk back to the OR. They had me sit on the operating table in the OR and I was told by a kind nurse that the anesthesiologist would be doing my spinal block and then I would lay down. She then sat down on the table and told me to imagine I was a shrimp or trying to hug my baby with my body and then held my hands while he completed the spinal block. Then they had me take of my hospital gown and lay down. Then they make sure that you are numb before they proceed. Not going to lie, I was freaking out before Grant was able to be with me, but what really helped was having music on in the background so that I could focus on something other than the fact that I was lying naked on a cold table by myself in the OR. Good news is, the c-section itself is not long. Usually, it is around 20 minutes to get to your baby out, and then stitching everything up takes a little longer. For my c-section, I was in recovery about an hour after going back.
You will feel pressure. I was warned before that I might feel some pressure, but then when the time came, they told me he was really wedged in there, and it would take more maneuvering to get him out. Luckily, the pressure wasn't painful, it was a little uncomfortable, and for me, it felt more like being tugged on than being pushed on.
Your baby might be "stunned" upon entry into the world. No one warned me about this, probably because it doesn't always happen, and they thought it would freak me out, but I still wish I would have known. When I was in recovery, the nurse told being stunned is normal and happens in a lot of c-sections. So what does "stunned" in reference to a c-section mean? When a baby is born vaginal, they get squeezed out of the birth canal, and their lungs usually get cleared out in that process. In a c-section, they don't get that squeeze, so sometimes they need help clearing their lungs after they come out of the uterus. For Wyatt, he ended up needing suction and oxygen. It was the scariest two minutes of my life, but he was fine after that!
You might feel nauseous. Thankfully it didn't happen to me, but if it happens to you, definitely speak up. The anesthesiologist can give you medication to help. Or if you want to avoid more medicine as I did, you could try bringing a cotton ball with peppermint oil on it, or this Rescue Wellness Oil from Hatch helped me a lot during my first trimester and is easy to apply.
Everything will hurt. Not going to lie, it is going to hurt to stand, walk, laugh, cry, sneeze, go to the bathroom, or put clothes on for the first couple weeks. What helped me was asking for the abdominal support band in the hospital. It made me feel held in, and holding a pillow to my stomach when I had to cough, sneeze, or laugh.
High-waisted underwear and dresses will be your best friends. Good news, high-waisted pants, shorts, and swimsuits are all in right now! You won't want anything rubbing against your incision for a while, so embrace comfy and high-waisted.
Pillows are your friend. Whether you are nursing, sleeping, or just trying to rest on the couch, having extra pillows around will help a ton! They are also great to hold against your incision when you need to cough, sneeze, or laugh.
You will still bleed. It won't be as much as it would be if you delivered vaginal, but you will still want to have pads at home. Your uterus will still shed its lining after your placenta is removed.
Rest and recover. Try and rest as much as you can. Let your partner, family, and friends help you with the day to day tasks and sleep as much as you can! I know recovery will feel slow, but I promise you will get there.
10. Your incision area will feel weird for a while. I was terrified to touch or look at my incision for the first couple of weeks. My first shower, I barley grazed my incision with the washcloth. Over time I got over it and then realized that the area around my incision had no feeling to it, which freaked me out all over again. It turns out that it is normal for the area around your incision to feel numb. Doctors cut through the nerves to get through to your uterus, so you have to work to get feeling back. I started by lightly rubbing a clean blush brush over my incision for a few minutes each day (you can also use a cotton ball), then gradually worked up to rubbing and massaging my scar. This C-Section Scar Guide by Girls Gone Strong is a great resource for scar massage!
I struggle with this, but c-sections are real births too. Just because you don't deliver vaginaly doesn't make you any less of a mom or make your birth any less special. What matters most is a healthy baby and mom :)
コメント