C-Sections: All You Need to Know

There is magic in birth. Everyone has their own ideas or dreams about how their birth may play out. For some mamas planning an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, a resulting c-section can feel discouraging and overwhelming. That’s how I felt with my planned c-section. There is a vast amount of stigma surrounding c-section births already, which only leaves moms often feeling like they’ve “failed” their delivery.

Mamas, c-section births are beautiful. C-section births are important. C-section births matter. C-section births can save lives. C-section birth is birth.

It’s also absolutely OKAY if there is grief and sadness surrounding your birth not going how you’d hoped it would. You are allowed to have those feelings, process them, and be so in love with your baby at the same time. Society often overlooks grief by saying, “But baby is healthy!” Which is great, yes, but I want to give you permission to feel however you need to feel. It’s also absolutely normal and okay to look forward to your c-section birth, too! We all have different experiences, dreams, and desires and none of them are “wrong”.
I want to normalize the c-section experience, and I want to help you feel equipped and prepared if this is or will be your birth experience.

Let’s break down why c-sections may occur, what to expect, and what recovery looks like. Hopefully being equipped with all of the info will help you feel confident going into labor and delivery in the case that a c-section occurs.

Alright, let’s jump in!

WHY SOME MAMAS GET c-sections

There are a lot of reasons why some women may need to have a c-section. Some you may be able to talk through with your doctor beforehand, but others are medical emergencies that require a c-section to keep mama and baby safe and healthy.

Here are the top 3 reasons for a c-section:

1. Failure to progress. If a mama has been laboring for countless hours with no progress – meaning the contractions aren’t changing your cervix – this may be cause to progress to a c-section.

2. Baby is in distress. If baby’s heart rate is dipping frequently or the care teams sees that baby’s heart rate dips at a certain point during/after a contraction – fetal intolerance to labor – this can often indicate that the cord is around baby’s neck and each contraction cuts off blood flow and oxygenation to baby. This is a time when you may be whisked away to a c-section quickly to ensure yours and baby’s safety.

3. Baby’s position. Breech, transverse, or very large babies can all be cause for a c-section. This was my reasoning for a c-section with my first!

WHAT TO expect

The prospect of a c-section can feel scary to some women, so let’s break it down so you know exactly what will go down in the operating room!

This is the basic rundown of what you can expect, but if you want to hear me talk more in-depth about it as well as my own experience, you can watch my c-section highlight.

Step 1: Prep

Spinal anesthesia or epidural anesthesia will be administered to ensure you’re nice and numb from the waist down

While lying on the table, your head is generally right next to your CRNA or anesthesiologist who administers the anesthesia and monitors your vitals during the procedure. Your partner or whomever you choose to be with you for delivery will also be next to you.

There will likely be a nurse and/or NNP to attend to baby as soon as he/she is born. There will also be a few other nurses working with the doctor performing the surgery.

There will be a drape near your chest to ensure a sterile operating environment, but you can absolutely request a clear drape so that you can see baby being born!

Step 2: C-section

Doc will make a “low transverse incision” in the pelvic area, generally below the bikini line. It is so much smaller than people realize, and it’s absolutely incredible how they are able to maneuver a baby out!

Once they cut through to the uterus, they break water and maneuver baby out! You may notice some pulling + tugging, which is totally normal!

Cord is cut and, as long as baby is doing well, you can immediately do skin-to-skin contact. If baby needs attention, a nurse will take baby to the warmer table for a moment before getting baby to mama! I know that most places work very hard to get that skin-to-skin happening ASAP.

I love that I’ve had the experience of both c-section and vaginal deliveries. I can truly tell you that it is just as emotional and heartwarming to watch your baby being birthed from your body via abdomen or vagina. Both are birth and both are beautiful.

birth wishes & MAKING THEM KNOWN

RECOVERY

I’ve been a c-section patient and cared for many c-section patients. Patients are usually in bed most of the first day to recover. At our hospital, we actually try to get patients up and moving that same evening (at least to try and stand with assistance, move around, etc— always with help!). You’ll have a urinary catheter in, so even though you won’t need to go pee, you can still clean up, get your bed changed, change clothes, and hopefully feel more like yourself!

I have a hospital bag highlight that talks about what to pack for a c-section.

PAIN MANAGEMENT

After the epidural is pulled, the medication used lingers in your system for ~20 hours. During that time you can’t have oral narcotics but can keep up on ibuprofen or Tylenol if pain starts to creep up.

Everyone’s timeline will be different based on your personal situation and establishment, but generally on the second day after you get some food in your belly, you should be able to get oral narcotics like Percocet or Vicodin if you choose for pain management alongside ibuprofen.

Keeping an ice pack on my incision + an abdominal binder was a game changer. Seriously. I feel like this combo gets overlooked so often! Sometimes your incision may feel a “burning” feeling. The ice works so well in eliminating that. The abdominal binder keeps the ice pack in place, but also helps stabilize your core if you’re getting up to move around those first few days-weeks.

GAS PAINS

It’s absolutely normal to have gas pains in the days following your c-section.

You may not experience this, but it is important to note. If you’re not expecting gas pains, it can be a bit scary not knowing why you’re feeling this type of pain.

You just had abdominal surgery, which allows a mode for air to enter the body. Gas pains postpartum can be extremely sharp and intense. These gas pains may also manifest as referred shoulder pain.

If you start experiencing these gas pains, you can certainly ask for a gas relieving pill like Gas-X, Simethicone/Mylicon. HOWEVER, movement is going to get your bowels moving to encourage that gas out and is going to be one of your best remedies. Warmth can also be helpful— warm drinks, warm heating pads, etc.

MOVE YOUR BODY!

I can’t stress enough how important movement post-c-section is! It is crucial in your healing and recovery. Being sedentary isn’t going to be helpful for a c-section birth.

Moving your body and going for frequent walks is going to help with

Gas from surgery
Blood flow to incision for healing
It’s a great mental boost!

USING AN abdominal binder

I absolutely loved my abdominal binder! Putting an ice pack on my incision and wrapping it with my binder was one of the best recovery hacks for me.

It’s so important to use a binder correctly! Otherwise, it is going to put unnecessary pressure on your incision. Which is the opposite of what we’re trying to do!

PROPER POSITIONING is KEY. If you place the binder too high, it will push down on the incision. The c-section incision is actually quite lower than people realize, so ensuring the binder is low enough to provide support is crucial. Otherwise, you’ll likely cause extra pain.

I have an abdominal binder reel you can check out for a visual and extra tips.

Alright, Mamas, that was a lot of information!

Remember: you are allowed to feel however you need to feel when processing your birth AND your baby loves you so much and is grateful you gave them a safe space filled with love for months. Two things can be true.

Let’s breakaway from the stigma of c-sections and empower women in all birth experiences!

You’ve got this, Mamas!

Kar

P.S. Here are the resource links from this blog