C Sect preparation

Hello! I'm a c-section first time mom myself and just gave birth 2 months ago at Alvernia. 1. Mentally - create a birth plan and discuss with your gynae (cord blood banking, delayed cord clamping, cord cutting by birth partner, intention to breastfeed and pain management, showering baby or not etc) - find out more about the process from your gynae / others (feel free to ask if you have any specific questions)! The surgery to deliver baby itself takes about 5 minutes, another 15-20 minutes to stitch up, some time with your newborn, and you'll be back in your room within the hour. 2. Hospital bag - My recommended essentials would be: baby's going home clothes, your going home clothes, high waisted maternity panties (I found one size larger to be more comfortable as it didn't press on my incision), perineal bottle, dry shampoo, abdominal binder (crucial for pain management), compression stockings (I got from hospital), a couple of maternity bras and breast pads, and your daily essentials (toothbrush, wet wipes, charger etc) - that's about it! The rest mostly provided in the hospital. 3. Supplementing with formula - your mature milk supply will be delayed due to c-section, so you'll likely only be producing colostrum and transitional milk in your 4 days stay. Hospital will supplement with formula if necessary. You will be asked what brand of formula you'll like to feed baby. It will also be helpful if you can get one can of this formula prior to your delivery to leave at home so you don't have to rush to purchase once you deliver! - you can always decide whether to continue breastfeeding / formula / mix thereafter when your mature milk supply comes in. - my husband actually had to go get one can from 24/7 supermarket one day before we left the hospital, because we found that I had a shorter nipple and baby couldn't latch, lactation consultant recommended nipple shield. So after I left the hospital, even though I had an oversupply, I found myself needing formula at times as breastfeeding and bottle feeding can require quite a bit of troubleshooting. Having some formula at hand helped to ease the anxiety that my baby isn't being fed enough, and provided me with an additional option. 4. Other general tips - will need to fast about 6 hours before surgery, and you'll only be given your first drink / meal the next day, which means you will be on the drip and won't eat for about 20 hours ! Have a really heavy meal before fasting for the surgery. - shave before going into hospital otherwise they will do it for you. Try to poop and pee before too, otherwise an edema might be administered (tbh more painful than the c section for me LOL) - increase credit card limit if necessary - try your best to walk as soon as possible once the urine catheter is removed! I walked to the toilet on my own within the first 24 hours post-surgery, it helped significantly with recovery and pain management!! By the end of my 4 day stay I was able to do most things normally on my own already. 5. Things that might surprise you about c-section - all the doctors and nurses will be chatting normally during the surgery - will need to remove all your jewellery and piercings - intense shakes, nausea and dizziness are normal side effects if you opt for epidural. Don't hold it in! Ask the anaesthesiologist as they are able to prescribe medication. - you won't feel pain but there will be a lot of pressure (like extracting a wisdom tooth!) - baby will take some time to cry as compared to vaginal birth - don't panic! - you still bleed vaginally after a c section because delivering the placenta essentially leaves a wound in your uterus. It's not too heavy though, and I went through 2-3 maternity panties in a day. - you will sweat A LOT after the surgery. This is normal! But noting that you won't be able to shower, you might want to get adult body wipes, dry shampoo, perineal bottle, small towel and any other items to help you wipe down! Super long as I wished this information was available when I went for my delivery 🥹 feel free to ask anything else!

1. Need to have mindset that its gonna be very painful the first few days, especially the first 2 days after operation, but itll get better, need to walk more. 2. Compression socks cause legs will be more swollen after operation, very swollen 3. You wont feel your legs until few hours later due to the anaesthetic. 4. Wear binder to keep the saggy tummy all together! Cause when the tummy sags down, itll put more pressure on the incision 5. For me to keep the incision as dry as possible, i only do wipe downs the first 2-3 weeks or so. Until incision is fully dry. Or if you bathe, remember to pat dry. 5. Just bring minimal, dont bother bringing pads or underwear cause theyll provide it. Just bring baby’s going home clothes, your going home clothes and some necessities like power bank and all. 6. Its perfectly fine if your colostrum is only like 1ml, hospitals are more than happy to provide formula. Or if you dont plan to breastfeed or pump, ask doctor for medication to stop milk production early. 7. Lochia will be aloooooot! So best to use those kotex overnight panties. 8. When sitting down on toilet bowl for business, dont open your legs too wide, itll be more painful on the incision. 8. Youll need alot alot of help during the first 2 weeks cause you can barely walk by yourself. 9. My biggest regret was to not use anti keloid gel or strip to the incision cause mine got big keloid. Take painkillers! The strongest will make you high and in and out of sleep btw.

From my experience, the most important thing is to invest in a good binder. I recommend Pret A Pregger Recovirth, you can get from Mothercare and it’s not too expensive, very comfortable material. I wear it almost 24/7 immediately after surgery and throughout my confinement (except when showering). It really helps to reduce the pain while walking / moving about. Even my gynae and the hospital nurses commented that it looks great. You’ll still bleed although not as much as natural birth. You can check if your hospital provides maternity pads, if not just bring normal night pads will do. During C sect, the most uncomfy part for me was the insertion of catheter, I could still feel some stinging sensation down there even with the epidural on. Epidural was fine for me, just felt a lot of pressure on my back for a few seconds. Post C sect, the pain wasn’t as bad as I imagined. Actually It was more of a dull abdominal pain, as if I’ve done a really intense abs workout haha. Usually nurses will remove the catheter 24 hrs after the surgery and ask you to walk to toilet to pee. The first step off the bed was the hardest, take your time and don’t force yourself. Please hold your tummy firmly when you laugh or sneeze, else it’ll be very painful especially in the first few days.

I brought along a perineal spray so I wont have to use the toilet spray at the hospital. I simply didn’t want to risk spraying the wound by accident, and I have once injured myself when I sprayed and the water was too powerful, it caused serious UTI. So I took precautions. Bring a drinking bottle with straw. Then you won’t have to sit up straight for water. It helped me.

do get a binder. it helps to ease the wound pain. nurses will encourage u to walk the next day & pee in the cardboard thingy after they take out the tube. if u need to pump ur milk, the hospital will provide. cause breastfeeding right after being cut is painful & uncomfortable for me. get those maternity pad panties.

is the best that you bring extra maternity pads. after c sec you might have a heavy flow. 1st pack is free and addtional will be charge in your bill. so it is best to bring additional ya.

You don't need all those. Just prepare mentally cos physically will be handle by surgeons and doctors. All the best!

i had cs but didnt use either... noticed a fellow mommy's comment above which i find amazingly helpful

I heard a binder is really really important to get.

Try