C-Section plz Help?

Question

I wasnt really ready for either c-section or natural labor but since the beggining they told me I was going to be able to give natural birth so I started "MENTALLY" preparing myself for it...Iam now 38 weeks and found out today that my pelvic boe is to small and I will have to do a c-section....can anyone give me any advice or explain the process how they numb you, does the numbing hurt?? How is the recovery afterwards...Now Im freaking out...PLZ HELP

Answer 1

You will get an epidural- which is a shot in your back that numbs you from the chest down. It is a pinch, but is not terrible (way better than contractions!!) Then they take you to an operating room and they put up a tent like thing. You will not be able to watch. The craziest thing about it is being able to tell they are shoving your inards around and pushing and pulling, yet you can't really feel it. It is not too bad. they show you the baby and then whisk it off and put you back together and then off to recovery for you. As soon as you can feel your legs again they will let you go to your room and bond with baby. Recovery is not too bad. You have to be careful lifting and you don't realize how much you actually use your tummy muscles until they are cut in half- but take the pain meds and follow Drs. orders!! Also, try to line up people to help you for the first 2 weeks or so. Don't be scared. The end result is beautiful- you get to meet your baby.

Answer 2

I had the same problem as you with my first child (had c-section w/2nd child too). I went to the hospital expecting natural child birth, but when we tried she wouldn't come out so I had to have a c-section.

This is basically what happens, they're going take you to a birth operating room and put you on a special table that locks your arms down. Then the anesthesiologist is going to give you an epidural which is basically a shot in your spine around the lower back to numb you. It's going to hurt but they will try to do it during a contraction so it doesn't hurt as much. They are also going to cover you from the waist down so you really can't see anything. Once you're numb they will cut you open around the bikini area and take the baby out and then sew/staple you up.

The first night you just rest the next day they make you get up and start walking. It's hard at first and you'll probably be walking like a hunched over old lady but it will get better in a couple of weeks. Oh and don't wait to long to go to the bathroom because you'll just end up going on yourself. The hospital stay is longer than normal birth by 2 days. They'll give you something for the pain and let you know that you can pick up nothing heavier than your baby. Also you won't be able to have sex for about 8 weeks.

Now for me my recovery time for my daughter was about 3wk and for my son it was 2wk meaning I was actually able to walk around without much pain.

Just remember to take it slow and everything will be fine.

Answer 3

No need to freak out - c-sections are pretty common these days and even though it's surgery it's not as risky as it once was. The nice thing is that you will have a day set and a time and you will be able to plan for the arrival.
They usually numb with an epidural. It may hurt when they put the needle in but after that you won't feel a thing. This will stay 'turned on' through the whole proceedure. You will be laying flat on the table, there will probably be a sheet up in front of you so you can't see everything and you will be able to have someone with you. The whole thing will go quickly and before you know it you will get to see your precious baby.
For some the recoveries aren't bad at all...they keep you in the hospital for about 4 days and then send you home. Your best bet is to try to get up and move around that first day, it will definitely ease the pain and help with recovery. They will give you meds, take them as instructed as they will definitely help!!!
Once you get home, make sure you have someone to help you the first 2wks. Definitely plan to stay away from stairs and keep everything for baby and you in arms reach.
The best of luck, there is tons of information online, just run a search for c-sections and you will find it!

Answer 4

A C- Section is a sugery to get the baby out when they are not able to pass through the birth canal (for any number of reasons). Sounds like yours will be scheduled. So they will give you a date and time to be at the hospital. Once there, they will first off, get you ready (check the baby's heartbeat, start IV, draw blood, etc.). When it is time, they will take you to the operating room. Here the anethesiologist will prepare you for the sugery by doing your spinal. A spinal is a type of regional block that they give you so you are numb from under your breasts down to your toes. They do this by inserting a small needle into your lower back and injecting a numbing agent into it. The worst part about it is the numbing medication that they use just prior to inserting the spinal (the actual spinal does not hurt). Then, they lay you down on the operating table. If your partner is not there yet, this is when they will go get them (they usually sit next to you, by your head). Then, they will put up a drape, make sure you are numb and then begin the surgery. After, the surgery, you will go to the recovery room, along with your partner and baby. As for recovery, it depends on the person, but you are out for 8 weeks. Your doctor will prescribe you medications to help with pain and they will check your incision in 2 weeks to make sure it is healing properly. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Answer 5

I had to have a c-section because my daughter was breech. First thing they do when you go into the OR is you sit up and bring your knees up to your chest and let them drop to your sides so you are sitting frog-like. They will then have you lean as far forward as you can and they will rub your lower back with iodine, which feels a bit cold. They will insert the needle in your back, which doesn't really hurt. Once the injection is done, they will have you lie back down and put your arms out to your sides. They have to strap your arms down to make sure nothing gets in the way of the surgery. Within minutes your legs will have a warmth feeling as they begin to go numb. You will become completely numb from just below your ribcage all the way down. Sometimes you might feel nauseous or a tingling sensation, which is due to your blood pressure dropping. It levels off very quickly. If you feel nauseous at all, let the anesthesiologist know and they can give you some oxygen. Once you are completely numb, a catheter will be inserted and then the OB will wipe your belly down with iodine. The OB will then begin making the incisions. There are 3 incisions total, your outer skin, then there is a lining that helps to keep your organs in place (I forgot what it's called), and then your uterus. Once the uterus is opened, your OB will tell you that you will feel some pressure or pulling as they get the baby out of your uterus. Once the baby is out and the umbilical cord is cut, the OB will then remove your placenta and sew you back up. The whole procedure takes about 45 minutes - from the time you are wheeled in to the OR until the time you are taken out. Afterwards you will go into a recovery room. I was able to nurse my daughter right away in the recovery room, so if you plan to breastfeed, ask the doctors or nurses about that because they say that it helps the baby to bond if they nurse right away. I believe it helps to soothe the baby as well. You will have to remain in recovery until you can wiggle your toes. Then you can go into your regular hospital room. While in recovery you may experience the shivers - even if you are not cold. Don't worry; this is a reaction from your hormones. It will subside before you are out of recovery. You will have to do some breathing exercises afterwards. Putting a pillow on your belly for pressure when you cough will help. Within 8 hours your catheter will be removed. You will be put on a liquid diet until you pass gas. You will also be required to get up and walk a bit, so make sure to take a robe and slippers with non-skid bottoms. You will most likely be given Morphine through an IV. I didn't like the feeling of it, so after the second day, I was put on pain pills. I stopped taking the pain medication before I left the hospital. I never had to take it at home either. My stitches were removed 5 days after the c-section by the nurse in my OB's office. I was not allowed to drive for 2 weeks. All the women I talked to that had both vaginal and c-section deliveries actually preferred the c-section. I thought the recovery was easy. I know I probably gave you too much information, but I thought it was better to give you more information than not enough. Don't worry, you'll be just fine. Best wishes for a healthy baby!

Answer 6

First, calm down, I've had three and they aren't *that* bad.

What will happen is this. If the schedule it right you won't even go into labor, you'll just walk into the hospital one morning. You change clothes and they put a fetal monitor on you, it's like an elastic band around your belly to read the baby's heartbeat.

You wait forever (of course), but once they take to the OR, you sit on the edge of the table and they give the epidural or spinal. They feel pretty much the same (had 2 Ep and 1 Spinal). You have to bend over some and it feels like a big pinch in your back. The worst part of that is it make you feel like you're going to throw up.

You lay back on the table and after about half an hour you'll be numb from about your ribs down. The numbing process feels like your foot falling asleep, a little bit tingleing, and cold, but nothing worse.

During the surgery the put a screen up so you can't see what's going on, and I don't know what all they do, but all you'll feel is some pulling sensations and some pressure. They'll warn you when you'll feel all that.

The surgery only take like 10-15 minutes, putting you back together takes about 1/2 hour. Usually they take the baby and him or her cleaned up and weighed and everything while they stich you up. Recovery isn't bad, takes an hour or 2 to get feeling back, also feels like when your foot falls asleep, but really cold. Bring socks!

Afterwards your belly is really sore (of course), but no where near as bad as I imagined when I had my first. They give you pretty good painkillers too. Within 2-3 days I was up and moving pretty well, but it took about a week before I could lift anything bigger than the baby.

Really, it's not as bad as I bet you're thinking. You'll be fine. *hugs*

Answer 7

I'm a surgical tech in the OR and have done many of these plus had one of my own. I'm the one that hands the instruments to the surgeon. After you have had the epidural they will begin to prep and drape you. Before the surgeon makes an incision he will use either straight hemostates or towel clips to poke at your abdomen and make sure you don't feel anything. He will then make the initial skin incision using a scapel and then use an electrocaudery (bovie) to make the rest of the incisions. The assistant will use suction and retractors to help hold apart the sections of the abdomen. When the surgeon gets to the uterus (usually takes about 5 to 7 minutes) he will then tell you that you will feel a lot of pressure. This means he is about to make the incision that will break the water and then take the baby out. When he makes the incision and the water breaks the assistant will suction up all the water and then the surgeon or tech will suction the babies mouth. They cut the cord and hand the baby off to the nurses. The surgeon then delivers the placenta and hands it off to the tech to place in a basin. The surgeon then places your uterus on top of your abdomen to begin sewing it up. After the uterus is placed back in the abdomen he will begin to suture your abdominal layers. Once he gets to the skin he will either use staples or absorbable suture, my doctor used absorbable suture. This is doctor preference you do not get a choice in it. Once you are swen up the nurses and surgical tech will clean off your abdomen and then push on your tummy and expell any excess blood that you have. That is about it. I do not go into recover as a surgical tech I just work in the OR so I don't know what goes on in there. For my c-section I had to be completely knocked out so I was not awake until about 2 hours after the surgery. It's not that bad and you'll be fine. I was up walking around at 9:00 that morning and I had my c-section at midnight. I even went home early. I was only there for not quite three days.

Answer 8

Oh! Sweetie, it will all be fine. I wanted to stay as far away from a c-section as possible, but when I labored for 13 hours w/o epidural,

(BTW! They don't always work, so you might wanna ask for a spinalblock instead. It hurts less and works faster than the epid does. Plus you wont feel the tuggin and pressure as they pull the baby out.)

only to end up 2 cm dialted and a stuck baby. I wasn't too small, my daughter just got turned sideways and then got her shoulders stuck in my pelvic bone. The c-section took about 15 mins from open to close and I didn't feel a thing. They brough me into the OR, sat me on the table, gave me the spinalblock, layed me down, then before I knew it I herd my baby crying and it was all over. I spent an hour in recovery. They wont let you leave untill you can move your legs.

As for post surgery recovery, well.... it's tough. You will be very sore and it will be hard for you to sit up by yourself at first, but if you keep positive and walk around and do what they tell ya, you will be fine. It's a hard recovery for some, but I was healed on the outside by my two week post partum appointment, it took me about 6 months for my muscles in my abs to heal.

Don't worry! You will be fine and everything will be wonderful. Good Luck and God Bless.

Answer 9

I had an emergency c-section when i went into labor at 34 weeks. The baby was breech and had the cord around her neck so i went in for a c-section and to tell the truth u r in enough pain that u won't care when they numb your legs with the epidural in your back it didn't even hurt compared to the labor pain so don't stress. Recovery is slow and hurts a little just take it one step at a time and take all the help u can get plus pain meds help alot. It's not fun i won't lie and it is scary. This is what happens after they numb your back they will have u on an iv and shave your pubic area and put this blue curtain like blanket in front of your chest. Then they will put in a cafider which u won't feel and then they will get ready to do the incision. After taking out the baby which u will feel some pressure on your chest a little. They will inspect your uterus and the placenta for any holes or anything and will stitch u up and staple your stomach.Then u will go to recovery where they keep u warm in this ca-coon like thing for about three hours or until u feel your legs. Then u will go to your room and see your family and baby. After two days they will remove the catheter which does sting a little don't worry about it. Then the day u go home they will take out the staples which hurts more from watching and that they r staples but you will survive i did. Tape will be put over the incision and u will go home. Just don't over do it at home get plenty of help from friends but remember to get up and move some. At about four weeks or so u will be able to excersise a little mind u it will be hard. Forgot to mention that it is hard to sit or stand or move because the abdomenol muscles have been cut through so be careful i layed down and couldn't get up. I cried when i couldn't even do one sit up but every day u do one more and eventually u will be back to normal. All of this sounds scary i know and i feel for u but i gotta do it again with this pregnancy too so your not alone. Your baby is well worth it and your vagina will remain virgin tight (sorry it sounds perverted but it's true) not to rag on anyone no one be offended OK. Sorry if u r! Good luck hon i will be praying for u. You can do this OK don't freak out just pray that's the only thing that got me through it and u will see that u become a stronger person after it's over. Your baby will make all of this not even matter. Mine is 3.5 now and i thank God every day for her.

Answer 10

That is EXACTLY what happened to me. Except I was in labor for 24 hours before they decided I was too small to birth a baby! First of all DON'T WORRY. Find out as much info before hand about c-sections. Talk with the doc at your next weeks appointment. They will give you a shot in your back (spine) that hurts (not gonna lie to ya!) but it is bearable and you will get through it. Then you won't feel a thing after that! When they do the c-section, you will feel pressure but no pain. It will take about 5 minutes to make the incision, then they will get the baby out and about 45 minutes to sew you back up. You will be in pain for about 1 month but as long as you stay on top of the medicines they give you, it will be fine. Take it easy, make sure you have lots of help from family and friends and just enjoy that baby!!! You'll be just fine girlfriend!