You may recover faster than you think, if you take it slowly.
That dreaded word: C-section. If yours is planned, you have ample time to read up, meditate and get your head around the fact that you’re going to have major surgery to get your baby out.
But if you fall into that last-minute category like so many other pregnant women, and you have the procedure sprung on you in the midst of complications or during labor, you might not feel so calm about it all.
Here’s the good news: your recovery will likely go faster than you’d think. This is coming from someone who’s been there.
Not everyone is the same, but here’s what I can say about my c-section. It was unexpected. The first two days after the procedure were, yes, painful. I had a great surgeon and a full team of extremely knowledgeable women working on me. They did a great job, and didn’t leave the scissors in there, so to speak.
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Nonetheless, lying down, standing up and sitting up were uncomfortable at best in the first 48 hours.
And walking also seemed impossible. But get this: within an extra day or two, it all settled down. Why? Maybe because I took the nurse’s challenge to heart and got up to walk the hallways. Very slowly. But this resulted in no gas pain, which they say can be horrendous.
I also ate regularly. I wasn’t afraid to challenge the bathroom. (Hey, it’s inevitable, right?) And I went slowly. I walked but sat down to take breaks. (Like, every few feet sometimes). No sudden movements. No lifting, and no swiveling. And just a couple of weeks later, no problems.
I could simply count myself lucky, because maybe I was. Good luck with your own procedure and take heart. It’s actually pretty amazing the way your body will bounce back.
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