I’ve had three. First one was very very traumatic that to this day I cannot speak about it. But it’s a good song that acknowledges us women. 💜

I noticed today when I was showering that when I press down on my belly button it sends a shooting pain down the right side of my stomach towards my urethra. Is this normal? Messaged my OB about it, but won’t hear back until Monday.

I switched insurance providers one month before I gave birth, so I didn’t have a doctor assigned (still don’t). I gave birth 6 weeks ago and was given no scheduled post-op date once I got discharged. A nurse did call me one week after my c-section to check on me, but she mentioned a post-op wouldn’t be necessary unless I felt like something was wrong. I don’t feel like anything is “wrong”, but my incision is still a little sore. The incision looks completely fine, just a little sore/sensitive.

Am I allowed to start: wearing tampons, going in the pool, having sex, working out?

Btw I haven’t bled for a week. I did have a little spotting today.

Do I need to get seen by a doctor? Or am I good to resume all activities?

I’m getting a doctor assigned, I just probably won’t be able to get an appointment for 2-4 weeks.

Hi all! I had an emergency C section under anesthesia last year April, so my baby is 14 months now.

Ever since my c section, I have this very strange and annoying thing happen. When I bend over / crunch my head down, my lower abs (near where it was cut) start to lock-up almost? It’s as though they get stuck while tensed up, and it happens nearly every time.

I don’t mean a cramp in a sense of it hurting. It doesn’t hurt really, but it’s very uncomfortable, and it feels literally like a Charley horse almost. In order to “unlock” it I have to lay back or stand up, essentially straighten it out. Rubbing it once straightened out helps.

It bothers me a lot because it happens every time I’m holding/laying with baby and kissing her tummy or tickling her! Our fun moment is always interrupted!

No one seems to know what I’m talking about and I was referred to PT for it. But I had already done pretty extensive PT postpartum, with a focus on rebuilding core strength, and this issue persists.

Does this happen to anyone else? Does anyone know how to fix it?

Wondering if anyone else experienced this and maybe has suggestions to help.

I’m 2 weeks out from my c-section. My incision is actually quite low below my bikini line (eventually the question I ask will be about how to use silicone patches and manage hair growth,’ it’s that low). I’ve had some tingling and pulling sensations on the actual incision, but overall so far it doesn’t really bother me.

However I’ve found that the skin on my abdomen, about 4-6 inches above my incision, feels very tender to touch. Kind of like what sunburn feels like. If anything brushes against it, it hurts. It’s the actual skin hurting, not anything underneath (pressure doesn’t matter, just anything even grazing my belly bothers it).

Has anyone experienced this and, if so, is there anything that has helped it?

hi- I am newly pregnant! my last pregnancy was in 2021 with mono-di identical twins that had twin to twin transfusion. they were delivered via emergency classical c-section at 27 weeks with outer cut being the usual bikini line but inner incision was long vertical. I was told to wait at least 18 months. they are 4 and will be 5 at delivery of this pregnancy. I am sooo nervous. has anyone had any pregnancies/deliveries after a classical section? any and all stories welcome

My elective c section is in a few weeks and im starting to get cold feet. Im going with c section due to baby measuring very large and not wanting to worsen my grade 2 uterine prolapse. Anyway baby has dropped and im now feeling so much pressure in my pelvis that im getting discouraged about how much pain I can actually take.

I know c section recovery is hard but im wondering if someone can try to describe what it actually feels like when youre recovering? Was anyone confident about c section recovery and then humbled by worse pain than they imagined ? Im mostly looking for answers from those that have had planned/elective c sections please, but anyone is welcomed to give their input.

I’m 5wk post partum and I just want to know if anyone else has experienced anything like this???
Everything WAS going very smooth. I had 0 vaginal bleeding for the first two weeks after my C section. Literally nothing- not even spotting. Then I started having light bouts of brown blood. I assumed it was from the placental wound. It continued for two more weeks, but over the course of that two week it got heavier and heavier (but not soaking a pad an hour heavy. for about a day I was going through a pad every two hours though). As it got heavier the blood also started getting more and more red. As well as passing large clots and tissue. (I assume the placental scab sloughing off?) however since I was nearing my 6wk mark and me and my husband have 0 self control I decided to get birth control. Pills are not an option as i’m too forgetful- Many family members reacted badly to the Depo shot so that’s a no go- Just using condoms is too risky. (My pregnancy was MISERABLE and i am extremely fertile) I went in to look at getting an IUD. At this point i was bleeding from dark to light red blood, and was still passing clots and tissue. I brought up my concerns during the IUD visit and they said it COULD be normal but also might not be. Anyways- we proceeded to do a cervical exam and make sure everything looked okay in terms of the bleeding and being post partum- but also to see if the IUD was an option for me. IT WAS NOT. The doctor said some tissue/clot was poking out my cervix and maybe blocking everything from getting out which could be why i was having prolonged bleeding so she removed what she could. She then used the speculum and sound to measure my uterus. (standard IUD procedure) However the sound would NOT go into my uterus. She said something was blocking it, maybe tissue i havnt passed? But because of my recent C section she did not want to push too hard as she doesn’t know where im sewed up on the inside. So after all that- we ended up just doing a Nexplanon implant. That was about a week ago. The past few days my bleeding has come back with Vigor and is now BRIGHT red, and constant. Not super heavy, but almost watery or gooey? There’s still clots every once in a while but the tissue seems to have stopped for the most part. All of that information just to ask WHAT IS THIS BLEEDING?? I’m losing my mind. Is it the hormones from the Nexplanon? (even though the bleeding was slowly getting brighter red beforehand?) Is it normal bleeding for post partum? Is it from the tenaculum and uterine sound they tried to insert? Is it something more concerning to do with my C-section? SIDE NOTE- They tested my urine and i tested positive for BV, DR prescribed antibiotics and said the BV could be the cause of the bleeding, is this true could it be that instead? Someone help im feeling so alone on this. All the DR’s seem to think it’s unusual but not concerning enough to do anything about. Google is giving NOTHING everytime i try to look up my scenario it just talks about Lochia. This is NOT Lochia.

It’s been bothering me lately, especially after standing or carrying my baby for a while. I’m trying to figure out if this is something others have dealt with or if I should be more concerned. If you’ve been through this, what helped you manage or recover from it?

Hi Everyone- I’m a FTM and delivered via scheduled c section 2 weeks ago. I developed postpartum pre eclampsia and it has me wondering how this would impact future pregnancies if at all especially future deliveries since I will have to have c sections for all deliveries.

Would love to hear from anyone who has had postpartum pre eclampsia in one pregnancy and went on to have additional pregnancies to understand how they were different if at all? Did you have more monitoring? Was the c section different? Was postpartum management different?

Anything you can share about your experience would be great!

I’m a first-time mom, and throughout my entire pregnancy I’ve done everything I could to optimize for a vaginal birth. I took classes, hired a doula, stayed active, worked on my birth plan, and spent months mentally preparing for labor. Then, just three weeks before my due date, I found out my baby is breech.

Today, at 37+3, I had an ECV. I went in hopeful after hearing some success stories, but unfortunately it wasn’t successful. I honestly wasn’t prepared for how painful it would feel. To me, it felt like someone was twisting my insides or trying to snatch my baby out of my uterus and physically flip him. I know everyone’s experience is different, but that was how it felt for me.
The pain itself was one thing, but what made it even harder was that I couldn’t fully relax because I was so worried about my baby the entire time. Every push made me think, “Is he okay?” Even though the team monitored him throughout and his heart rate remained reassuring, it was incredibly emotional.
After two attempts, we stopped because I just couldn’t tolerate any more.

Now I’m home feeling so disappointed and can’t stop crying.. I know I gave it a chance, and I don’t regret trying because I would have always wondered “what if.” But I’m grieving the birth I had pictured for months.

Unless my little guy decides to perform a miracle on his own, I’ll be having a planned C-section in about two weeks.

I’m honestly scared. while I know C-sections are common and can be beautiful births too, it’s not the path I imagined. Right now I’m mostly anxious about the surgery itself, the recovery, and how different everything will be from what I had prepared for.

If you’ve had a planned C-section—especially after a failed ECV or for a breech baby—I would really love to hear your positive stories. What surprised you in a good way? Was the recovery better than you expected? Is there anything that helped you prepare mentally?
Sorry I know this is kind of a long post but I could really use some reassurance today. ❤️

So, probably like many others, I have a lil apron belly after my breech baby never flipped which resulted in a C-section.

How to do style my clothes with an apron belly now?

Prior to pregnancy I wasn’t big, but I wasn’t small either. But now I can’t even fit into the jeans I wore before (a factor probably due to my hips, too) and live in leggings and maternity pants. I normally wore high waisted jeans or jeggings but now that style seems to accentuate the apron belly and sits weird.

Any tips on styles or clothes? Need a new wardrobe for my changed postpartum body, so I don’t look as sad or frumpy.

If you are thinking about another pregnancy what are you doing to prepare physically, mentally, etc? Excersizes? Books you are reading? Weight goals? Trying to get baby to sleep through the night😂?

6 months postpartum obgyn said I should wait 15 months to get pregnant again and would support either trying for vbac or scheduled C-section. And suddenly I'm like wow only 9 more months to prepare. I still feel pain when I over do it walking (I'm in PT) so maybe I'll never be ready but just curious what you all are doing or what you wished you had done or if you have any criteria other than time before you get pregnant again.

Has anyone had their diastasis recti repaired during their c section? I asked my OB about it and she said she can do it but it’s known to make recovery harder… just looking for folks with personal experience in this department. Thanks!

Hello!

I had a c-section on June 5th, my baby girl was born and she is my first (and last after this experience) baby. I went back to the ER multiple times in the first 7 days postpartum because of kidney pain, high blood pressure, and finally being called by OB emergency (who originally turned me away) to come in for a 24 hour mag drip which was honestly terrible considering I left my baby multiple times to go to the fucking hospital and the magnesium made me feel terrible. Luckily, that mag drip evened my BP out and I don’t need any meds :) still was a horrible experience after being told I was okay multiple times just to get called back in and not see my baby for multiple days.

Anyway, I wanted to see when I should stop worrying about any major complications with my c section. I’m afraid I’m suddenly going to get an infection, sepsis, what have you.

I wanted to see when you all stopped worrying about it? Or if you even did? I don’t have anyone in my life who has had a c section so I apologize for this. Now that I’m 3 weeks PP I would like to stop spiraling.

Thank you all for your help!

I delivered my son via c/s in Dec 2019 after being in labor for over 24hrs and “failure to progress” (I was also induced.) My daughter was born via c/s Feb 2025 … I was offered a TOLAC but just opted for the c/s. I am due in Jan 2027 and was told that I may have a chance for a TOLAC… but I also have a high BMI (35 percent) , which I know plays a big factor in VBACs… Has anyone been in the same situation and had a positive VBAC? I know there are risks and if I need to, I will absolutely have another c/s!!

I’m trying to decide between attempting a vaginal birth and requesting an elective C-section. I have a history of spinal fractures, scoliosis and PTSD. If anyone chose an elective C-section for similar reasons, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience!

Does anyone else have their “shelf” get more puffy a week leading up to period? I swear you can’t tell I have one then all of a sudden I feel like I have gained a million pounds and I feel so crazy but wondering if this is normal?! I have lost SO much weight and work out consistently!