More than one in five births are now by Caesarean, or C-section.  But however routine they may be, they are still major surgery.

After a Caesarean you’re recovering from a double whammy: giving birth and having an operation at the same time.

‘Whether a woman had a planned or emergency caesarean, it is important to note that it takes some time to recover from major abdominal surgery,’ says Bounty’s midwifery expert, Allyson Williams.

Every woman will recover at her own pace after a Caesarean and you’ll feel rough and in pain for the first few days at least. But unless you’ve had a difficult birth or complications, you’ll be on the way to feeling back to normal (or as normal as you can be with a new baby) within a few weeks of the birth.

How you recover may depend on your health and fitness before and during pregnancy and on whether you’ve had an elective or an unplanned caesarean. ‘The evidence suggests that the wound should be fully healed in six months and your body should be back to normal by one year,’ says Allyson.

You'll have:

A cut

It may look large at first, but will gradually shrink as your tummy flattens and most cuts fade to a thin fine line. You may also have a drain in the cut, a catheter in your bladder and a drip in the back of your hand for the first 24 hours or so.

Stitches

You will probably have a running stitch along the cut with a bead at either end, or you may have a number of individual stitches along the cut; either will probably be removed after four or five days. Some units use dissolvable stitches which don’t need to be removed.

Pain relief

You’ll be given painkillers every few hours, which won’t interfere with breastfeeding, either by injection or ‘suppositories’ which are put in the back passage. If you’ve had an epidural, the catheter may be left in and used for ‘top ups’ for 24 hours or so. Say if you’re in pain, it’s important you are comfortable enough to be able to cuddle and feed your baby. It can also be very painful if you need to cough or pass wind. Hold a pillow or both of your hands over the wound while you do so.

Wind

The surgery will have disturbed your digestive system and wind may make you very uncomfortable. Eat plenty of fruit and drink plenty of fluids to keep things moving; it will soon fade. Peppermint tea may help.

Trouble moving around easily – Keep your circulation working while in bed by wiggling your toes and circling your ankles. To get out of bed, work your way towards the edge of the bed into a sitting position and get up gently. You may need your midwife to help you to begin with.

See also:

C-sections explained

C-section recovery tips