Top Tips For Pre & Post C-Section Births

Top Tips for Pre and Post C-Section Births

When it comes to babies nothing goes to plan - and that includes their entrance into this world. Its good to go into your birth with an idea of what you want, but you should also be prepared for things to change at any moment. I was determined I would not have an epidural and wanted a natural vaginal birth - I ended up having an emergency c-section.

I thought I was well prepared, with the hospital bag having everything we could possibly need. I was very wrong!

New Zealand's National Caesarean rate was 25.9% between 1990 - 2014. Auckland, as a region, is now heading closer towards 30%. There are many theories as to why, but as a Mum to be, all you need to know is that a caesarean birth is a possibility, and therefore you should try to prepare for it. I know of many mothers that went into hospital expecting vaginal birth, and in fact their baby arrived via c-section. I thought my bag catered for both types of births - I learnt the hard way this was not the case. Below are some tips from my experience before birth, as well as post birth; including recovery, clothes, moving around and trying to relax.

Note - These tips aren't just for c-section births either, some of the advice was passed onto me from women that had natural births. The below comes from mine and my friend's experiences.

Four days post birth when I started to feel more confident after the c-section

Tip 1: Treat yourself, you deserve it
When we were told I was being induced my husband suggested that I pamper myself before baby arrived. I am very thankful he suggested this, as it helped me take my mind off what was to come, and also I felt great afterwards. It was a win win! I recommend this for every woman that is pregnant, go and treat yourself and spend time on you. Whether this be having a girls day with friends, visiting a favourite place, or like me, going for some pampering at a spa. Once baby arrives it's going to be a long time until you get the chance for 'me time', so take the chance and do it in your last trimester, you will thank me for it!


Tip 2: Buy Seamfree Briefs
Elastic and High waist will be your best friend. Stay away from low cut jeans, buttons and clothes with stitches/seams that sit along your bikini line.
I packed a week's worth of maternity underwear. They had a band for the bump (and yes, this does stick around post birth), problem was the stitching to the extra band sat right on my wound. It hurt so much I had to take them off. I ended up wearing the same undies for over a day while my Mum went and hunted for some elastic boy shorts. She got me seamfree boyleg briefs from Kmart. There were perfect, they could stretch over my bump, with no stitching over my wound and they were comfy too. They also held the pads perfectly and helped me feel really comfortable - which is very important during recovery. These will be handy regardless of whether you have a c-section or not. Can't beat the comfort of stretchy seamfree knickers!


Tip 3:  Pack easy to eat snack food
Post C-section you are bed bound for about 12 hours, and even then you are often asked to do limit movement for 3 days to what is necessary. They want you to get moving, but its also very important to rest. Your body needs to recover, you have just had major surgery. So be prepared to sit in bed, and only move to go to the toilet, shower and get dressed. This isn't a bad thing, it will hurt to move, your body is trying to heal and your uterus is also going back to its pre-pregnancy size. We packed a snack bag with muesli bars, some fruit, mini chocolate bars, chips, and cans of soft drink.  The small snack food was perfect as anyone could easily pass me something to eat, whether it was during labour, while breastfeeding, or something for me to nibble on before I had a nap. The small and easy to eat snacks were perfect to help me keep up with demands of being a new Mum.

Tip 4: Straws!
We also packed straws so people could just hold the straw and force me to drink. It sounds silly, but it worked! My midwife suggested this, and is honestly one of the best advice I have been given. I honestly would not have drunk enough water if we hadn't taken the straws. My husband, or anyone really, could hold the straw and cup up to my mouth and make me drink while I was in labour, breastfeeding or when I was resting in bed and they were trying to make sure I was drinking enough. Keeping up your fluids will help you recover. The straws made it much easier for them force me to drink that's for sure! When you're recovering post surgery, your thinking more about baby, and its quite easy to forget to keep your fluids up.


Tip 5: Pack massage oil
This is for all stages. My midwife suggested massage oil that had lavender or orange in it as these were calming scents. My sister kindly made two pump bottles of massage oil for me with lavender and mandarin oil - it was heavenly! We packed this in the hospital bag with the intention of using it during labour. Hubby gave me a relaxing foot rub while my epidural started to take effect - it felt so good. Then post c-section, my legs were stiff and heavy, to help me fall asleep after the night feeds hubby kindly rubbed my legs with the oil and it worked wonders. The smell of the lavender and mandarin helped relax me and the rub helped my leg muscles too. Grab yourself some lavender massage oil and put it in your hospital bag - even if you just rub it on your wrists to help the scent make you feel relaxed and calm.


Tip 6: Pack Jandals (aka Flip Flops) or Slides
The midwife that ran our antenatal class suggested this. She said post birth you want something easy to slip onto your feet and that you don't mind getting wet or ruined. Its common for women post birth to have (pee) accidents with no warning, so you don't want your cute Peter Alexander slippers getting ruined and then you end up crying because you purposely got them for hospital and now they are only good for the bin. Grab some comfy jandals (flip flops) or slides and take those. I purchased a pair of Puma slides. They were great because they were comfy, cushioned and I could wear them in the hospital shower as they had grip on the soles.


Tip 7: Get some Fabulous PJ's
A workmate gave me this advice, and I must say, its a valid point! She told me to go and buy myself some nice pj's that I really love, and if I can, to splurge a bit on them. She made a good point, post birth you basically live in your pj's, so why not get some fabulous ones that you feel great in! Another tip; if you want to breastfeed, get ones that button at the front so its easy to do this.

My much loved button front shirt - it was perfect for breastfeeding. 

All types of Births are hard, whether it be natural, with pain relief or c-section. These tips helped me get through the transition into Motherhood, and some I learnt after the experience. If you have any additional tips feel free to share in the comments.


Love

Mrs R x