A cesarean section is sometimes required for the safety of the mother or the baby, but C-sections result in longer recoveries and other potential post-operative issues. Dr Keith Eddleman, head of obstetrics at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York explains how to cope with a cesarean section.
Why you might need a cesarean:
- Problems with the baby, such as abnormalities in the fetal heart rate, or if the baby is in the breach position.
Electing a cesarean:
- More and more women are deciding to forgo the traditional labor and schedule a cesarean section.
- A cesarean is abdominal surgery, is more invasive, and requires more recovery time than a vaginal birth.
- Having a cesarean section can prevent complications from vaginal birth, such as fetal heart rate problems.
- You shouldn’t schedule a cesarean section before 39 weeks of your pregnancy unless you have an amniocentesis performed to check for the development of the lungs of the baby.
How it’s performed:
- Most cesarean sections are done under regional anesthesia such as an epidural.
- You will feel movement during a cesarean section but not pain.
- The entire cesarean process from start to finish lasts about an hour.
Recovering from a cesarean:
- In recovery a catheter is placed to drain your bladder for 24 hours.
- You would have pain in your abdominal due to the surgical procedure but pain medication is provided to control it.
- A regular diet will slowly be reintroduced into your system.
- You can breastfeed as soon as you get into the recovery room.
- Generally you will spend 3-5 days in the hospital following a cesarean section.
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