C sections are taken so lightly these days but for a variety of reasons they are needed and you will receive some fantastic c section after care in the hospital.
But what happens when you leave hospital?
Unfortunately there is little information available about what your c section after care should be and most Moms come home from the hospital with a vague idea about what they should and shouldn't do. Some Moms recover quickly, some have pain for a long time and some even end up back in hospital with complications from their surgery.
Here are 5 tips for your c section after care to make sure that you make a speedy, full and complication free recovery from your surgery.
Rest - As with any new Mom, rest is ohh, so important. But the difference with you is that you have also just had major abdominal surgery. Your c section after care should reflect this, so get plenty of physical rest.
No straining - Because your stomach muscles have all been cut it will take about 6 weeks for them to knit together enough for you to lift anything. The general rule in c section after care is to lift nothing heavier than your baby for the first six weeks.
No stretching - Do little stretching of the abdominal area for the same reasons - especially in the first couple of weeks. Not only are your muscles healing but so is your skin and the nerves, so any over stretching could at best affect the way that your scar looks, at worst you could even open your wound up. This is why things like vacuuming and hanging out washing are not recommended as part of your c section after care.
Eat - The fourth c section after care tip is to eat. I know that you may not feel that well, you will be tired, sore and swollen, but your body actually needs more of the right foods now to help you to feed baby and heal quickly.
Exercise - Our final c section after care tip may seem contradictory, but you do need to incorporate some form of exercise into your recovery. This means just gentle walking or movement. Not a lot - just enough to get the blood and nutrients moving to all the places that need them - like your wound and your feet.
Many women find that their feet swell up like balloons after their c section thanks to all the fluid build up, so the sooner that you are able to get moving, the sooner the fluid will be reabsorbed.
There are specific exercises that you can do right from day one that will help to speed up your recovery and reduce your pain significantly.
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