Recovering From A C-Section: 8 Tips for the First Few Days

Birth is no easy feat no matter how it goes down, but in the case of a C-section, it also includes major abdominal surgery! Whether planned or unexpected, you may be feeling overwhelmed, uncomfortable, and not sure where to turn. The good news is that there are plenty of relatively simple strategies you can implement that can have a huge positive impact on your overall recovery. Taking steps to help digestion and bowel health, using specific strategies to move around, wearing your abdominal binder, lying flat regularly, monitoring your vital signs, and bracing at your incision can make a world of difference in the first days and weeks after your birth.

Why is recovering from a C-section so challenging?

Many people look at a C-section as being so common that we often forget to take a step back and realize all of the ways that it can affect you.  First, the medications involved in the surgery including pain medication and anesthesia can really slow your digestion, creating gas pain and difficulty with bowel movements. Next, your abdominals were literally cut through in order to access the baby! We take for granted how your core and abdominals are used in subtle ways to stabilize you with everyday movements, not just when doing crunches. And of course, there are the myriad of other things that can be challenging after any sort of birth: sleep deprivation, your body adjusting to not having the space in your abdomen being taken up by a baby, dramatic hormone fluctuations, and more.

8 Strategies to Start Your Recovery From a C-Section

• Keep your guts moving: Chewing gum immediately after surgery can help kickstart your digestion. Other things such as rocking in a rocking chair, gently pressing your abdomen from side to side, and incorporating gentle movement can help your digestion pick back up.

• Make bowel movements as easy as possible: Most people find it useful to keep stool softeners on board for a while to keep BMs going smoothly. Using a toilet stool or even a tipped over garbage can in a pinch so that you can get your knees above your hips for pooping is also going to set your body up success. For even more details, check out the Pooping after C-section blog.

• Monitor your vital signs: This may not seem super exciting as far as your Cesarean recovery goes, but there is an increased risk for serious negative health concerns after a big surgery like a c-section, and these are called “vital” for a reason. Getting a basic blood pressure cuff or way to track your heart rate is cheap and easy and can catch significant concerns before they become major emergencies. (Don’t forget that if you just feel something is off, it’s okay to get that checked out too!) When looking at your vital signs, it is important to note changes out of norm for you to know whether additional work up may be needed. Here are the key ones to watch:

  • Systolic blood pressure (the top number) rises more than 20 above your norm

  • Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) rises more than 10 above your norm

  • Heart rate increases more than 15-20bpm above your norm

  • Heart rate recovery: For this, we are looking at the change from your heart rate immediately after exercise (such as walking up and down the hall) to one minute after stopping. A normal response would be at least a 12bpm decrease in that time. If it isn’t dropping that much, it could be a warning sign that your autonomic recovery isn’t great

• Wear the abdominal binder: Hopefully you are at least given an abdominal binder after your c-section. (If not, advocate for yourself and get it immediately!) However, most places don’t give you much direction on how to actually use it. It should be worn low over the hips, underneath any clothing, and put on while lying down. It shouldn’t be excessively tight but instead like a gentle hug. You don’t have to wear this 24/7, but it should be on when you are up and about to give you adequate support for the first 2 weeks before switching to a slightly less rigid compression option.

• Lie flat multiple times a day: Being completely flat can put you in a position for good blood and lymphatic flow and place positive tension across your incision site for healing purposes (prevent that c-section shelf early!). Aim for at least 5-10 minute intervals, 3 times a day. You can also sleep on your back if that is comfortable.

• Move Strategically: Again, things you probably took for granted before like getting in and out of bed or standing up from a chair may feel daunting now.  Here are some ways to improve your comfort and keep your incision safe:

• Avoid pulling on things which will activate your abdominals more

• Bend or straighten one leg at a time to decrease strain to abdominals

• Bridging can be a good way to shift in your bed

• Log roll to get in and out of bed

  • From lying flat: Roll to your side with shoulders and hips moving at the same time. Then,let your legs go over the edge of the bed while pushing up with your arm, trying to keep your body in a relatively straight line as you come to sit.

  • From sitting edge of bed: Move to sidelying by bringing your legs up to the bed while you are lowering your upper body down, trying to keep your body in a relatively straight line. Then, rotating hips and shoulders at the same time, roll onto your back

• “Blow before you go”: Make sure to exhale just before and during any movements or exertion.

• Brace at your incision: For coughing, sneezing, laughing, or bowel movements, holding a pillow against your incision can help with comfort

• Get more support when needed: If you are really struggling with pain, mobility, or just want some reassurance, seek out more help! If you are still in the hospital, you can ask for a PT or OT consult (unfortunately, the majority of hospitals still don’t have this as standard of care). Or, you can look for a provider who offers virtual support or who you can see after discharge.

Where to Get Help For C-Section Recovery

If you are local to Richland WA, Tri Cities Pelvic Health provides pelvic floor physical therapy including postpartum care and C-section recovery support. Additionally, we offer virtual services for those still recovering in the hospital or who don’t yet feel ready to leave their home and highly encourage people to get care as soon as possible after birth instead of waiting 6+ weeks. We specialize in pelvic floor therapy to assist with birth recovery, pain, bladder/urinary issues, bowel issues and many other common concerns. We want to make sure you have the guidance and support to get you back to anything and everything you want to do in your life with confidence and ease.