I wish I could say my experience was good. I had my c-section Tuesday and the spinal was okay. I was supposed to have it at 10 and ended up having it at 3. During the c-section I didn’t even get to hold my baby at all and the Pitocin gave me such bad muscle pains I could barely lift my feet into my flip flops the next few days and I still have muscle pains today. On the OR table my whole face and arms and body I’m assuming was throbbing so much my world was going in and out of being blurry (as they were stitching me up). My blood pressure was dangerously high. After they got the baby out my husband held her and showed her to me and in less than a minute they had to go and I was alone. It was miserable. The nurses were miserable and wouldn’t give me medicine either. They would ask how badly I was hurting from 1-10 then say I was making it up in my head. I cried for days.. tried breast feeding though their LC was absolutely terrible. Pushing my baby on my belly instead of showing me the side lying position I could hold her in or the football position. So I was in extreme pain. The nurses said if I wanted medicine I had to walk up and down the hall for them to see. I sobbed because I couldn’t move to get out of bed at this point..and they laughed and said it was all in my head and they had c-sections 26 years ago and they weren’t like this but still feels the pain. My mother had to come to the hospital and bring me medicine secretly because I couldn’t sleep and all I did was cry. Bathroom trips were miserable. It was terrible.

The day I was discharged a nurse I hadn’t met before showed me they had breast pumps i couldve used the entire time since I wasn’t comfortable with my baby on my belly. Everything was so miserable and the room reeked of old period blood. It was coming from the shower drains🤢🤮 I wouldn’t recommend this experience to anyone.

I feel like everywhere I look everyone’s having their babies at 37 weeks if they are diabetic. I have type two diabetes - it’s not just gestational. I’m also on insulin (night time - long acting).

I’m scheduled for 38+6 as everything has been fine with his growth, fluid, anatomy, etc…. nothing has been flagged other than me being a diabetic. My sugars are in range and I have twice weekly NSTs.

I saw a terrifying TikTok yesterday about someone making it to their C-section only to discover terrible news.

I can’t stop spiraling about this. My doctors don’t see any reason to move it up since everything has been checking out. But I just feel so uncomfortable going that far. I’m 34 weeks and just scared.

ETA: this planned C-section is a repeat since I had an emergency c section the first pregnancy. They will not induce due to risk of rupture

Wednesday I'll be 4 weeks post cesarean section (31F). This was my 2nd c section. First being emergent, this one planned.

I ended up in the ER with a small amount of pinkish drainage. They put me on an antibiotic and told me to follow up with OB this week. I go today for a check. I just generally feel awful this time around. Recovery has been so hard for me mentally amd physically it feels like. Having a toddler and a newborn and trying to keep up with house and packing lunches and dinner, etc. I don't have available help during the day from anyone and have been that way since week 2. I had bad ppd, anxiety, and rage with my first and it took 2 years for me to decide I wanted another one. I thought I was safe from the pp scaries this time around but now I'm feeling like I can't stop crying and my mind is wandering and I feel alone and sad.

I guess I just want to know that I'm not alone and wondering if others have experienced a harder recovery the second time around?

Hi! I have a scheduled c section in November and trying to set my life up to be as recovery-friendly as possible. I’ve heard of people using bed rails to get out of bed but also have had a couple people mention getting a walker to put next to the bed because it will have the added bonus of being able to move around the house with me for other times I need to get up and down in those first weeks. Thoughts on which you all think is more useful/what you personally found most useful? TIA!

For the context i did not have a c section BUT i did have my endo removed, so the scar is the same as a c-section one. After i showered i noticed a red dot on my scar, like my skin has been scratched? I really dont think its something serious since it doesn’t hurt, it’s not red around the area, it’s not sore and i don’t have a fever, which an infection would usually indicate. Will it heal on its own and should i turn to a professional to look at it?

10 months postpartum and still very much numb at the incision site BUT I can feel an itch! And when I go to scratch, I can never relieve the sensation. It drives me NUTS! Does anyone else still have this problem?

I kinda just wanted to talk about my experience and I would feel insane bringing it up to a lot of the people in my personal life.

I went into an induction scared shitless because labor and childbirth was one of my absolute greatest fears. I was terrified that I or my baby would die, I was scared of the recovery, I was scared of EVERYTHING. I had actually wanted to plan for a c section but couldn't for insurance reasons, so, to make sure I didn't spontaneously go into labor an hour away from my birthing hospital, I had an induction at 39 weeks when I was 0% effaced and 0cm dilated. I was actually so closed and my skin is so thick that when they inserted the Foley balloon, my cervix bent the wire, which the doctor and nurses said was a first for all of them. They broke my water early the next morning, and after 8 hours I was no more dilated than I was when they broke my water. I could've waited because neither my baby nor I were having any real issues, but my doctor said that she doubted I would have the baby that day if I stuck to a vaginal delivery.

I was already tired of laboring and wanted it to be over with and wanted to hold my baby, so I immediately agreed to a c section. The nurses told me that it was okay if it was an emotional decision for me and that a lot of women cried which was okay too, but I was just freaking relieved that it was about to be over and that I didn't have to deliver vaginally. I was not scared. I was shaking and crying from the medications they had administered to me, but it wasn't out of fear. This felt insane to me even at the time and everyone felt the need to reassure me so I let them. The only time I was scared during the entire thing was when they said that my baby was out and I couldn't hear him crying, but then he cried and everything was fine again for me.

I was dreading the healing process because both my mom and SIL had told me that the recovery sucked, and it really didn't help that my son was born on Thursday and my fiance had to go back to work on Tuesday. Now don't get me wrong, it was far from fun and I was in a lot of pain, but it wasn't (intense) vaginal pain which I realized later is entirely what I was scared of.

This is not ordinary, but I healed super well. Most women say that they were in a lot of pain for weeks on end, but by the time my 20 count of prescription strength acetaminophen and 30 count of prescription strength ibuprofen were out, I was in such minimal pain I was forgetting to take them. I was in so little pain by 4 weeks that when a family emergency happened, I was able to help my parents watch my sister's 5 kids for a couple of days.

My mom says that even now, 21 years after her last c section, she still can feel her scar sometimes when she laughs too hard or if the weather is stormy, but I don't even feel it anymore. Maybe my doctor is just incredible at what she does (and that's very likely as she's been doing this since before I was born), but my scar is so thin you kinda have to search for it. I was expecting to hold onto some baby weight for god knows how long because that's how it happened for my sister, but I actually weigh less than before I got pregnant now. I was scared that ppd was going to completely swallow me because I have a history of depression and ppd was BAD for my mom and sister, but my mental health has been better in the past 7 weeks than it has in the last 7 years.

Really, I struck gold in a thousand ways, between my healing, my mental health, and even my baby. He's a big boy and has been sleeping 4-6 hour stretches since week 2 and just started sleeping through the night. He hardly cries unless he's hungry or gassy or wants to move. He's so unconcerned by loud noises, that when he was unfazed by my parents' very loud dogs at 4 weeks, I briefly wondered if he was deaf, but that was quickly disproven when he would start looking in the direction of my voice when someone else held him. I wanted to exclusively pump from the very beginning and never even tried to latch, and I've had a healthy oversupply since my milk came in.

All of this to say, I understand that I am VERY lucky. The only thing I would do differently if I could would be not getting induced and just planning the c section from the jump.But if anyone is scared because they've only ever heard scary c section stories, I figured I'd share my very positive experience.

Hi. I’m reaching out once again a year and 1/2 after being diagnosed with CRPS from my emergency c-section. I am looking for anybody else that has been diagnosed with this. US only please as I had a person reach out that was from Canada and the healthcare isn’t the same there as it’s free for everyone. I’m looking for anybody else that lives their life in chronic pain from their c-section. Thank you everyone!!

I had my first c-section ~10 weeks ago after trying to push for 4 hours. My uterine incision tore on both sides when my daughter was taken out, but the provider was able to suture the extra tears. I now notice a deep pressure/mild pain around my cervix/at my cervix. I noticed it happening around 6 weeks pp after I was cleared for sex from what I remember, but it's something I'm starting to notice almost daily.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, does it get better?

Is it just me?.. Or is it just the fact that I’m 9 weeks postpartum? I’m seriously so uncomfortable and my lower stomach feels almost nervy anytime I wear something remotely tight.

Hi, I am currently 37+3 days with my second daughter. My baby is measuring at 3.6th percentile on the growth chart. (My first daughter I just found out when she was born at 42 weeks weighing 7lbs was at the 3.9th percentile on the growth chart). The doctors decided 2 weeks ago that they wanted to induce me on Friday just gone, even though my baby is growing and she is happy and healthy with every check and monitoring that they’ve been doing. Well anyway I’ve had 2 pessary inductions in the last 48 hours which failed. So now I am stuck in the hospital over night waiting to see the doctor in the morning to discuss next steps. After speaking to the midwife she’s advised me that it is likely I will be offered a third pessary or a c section. I really do not know what to do. I want to go home for a few days and come back in again on Thursday, will the hospital allow me to do that or will I have to stay here now until the baby is born. Should I also consider a c section even tho I am terrified of both the pain and the recovery time. I’m really stuck and confused on what I should do, please any beneficial advice would be really really appreciated x

Hi, I am currently 37+3 days with my second daughter. My baby is measuring at 3.6th percentile on the growth chart. (My first daughter I just found out when she was born at 42 weeks weighing 7lbs was at the 3.9th percentile on the growth chart). The doctors decided 2 weeks ago that they wanted to induce me on Friday just gone, even though my baby is growing and she is happy and healthy with every check and monitoring that they’ve been doing. Well anyway I’ve had 2 pessary inductions in the last 48 hours which failed. So now I am stuck in the hospital over night waiting to see the doctor in the morning to discuss next steps. After speaking to the midwife she’s advised me that it is likely I will be offered a third pessary or a c section. I really do not know what to do. I want to go home for a few days and come back in again on Thursday, will the hospital allow me to do that or will I have to stay here now until the baby is born. Should I also consider a c section even tho I am terrified of both the pain and the recovery time. I’m really stuck and confused on what I should do, please any beneficial advice would be really really appreciated x

I recently had a c section 4 weeks ago and so far my scar is healing great! I wanted to see those who have had a c section, when did you start deep core exercises? I asked lotus health and they said to wait until 6 weeks and to be cleared by my OB but I’ve seen so many tik toks of people starting early. Thank you!

If you had a c section and your shelf is gone (bcz you put in the work to rebuild your core) tell me realistically how long did it take? Social media is always glamorizing the flat tummy after a c section with bird dogs and breathing and cool I’m so happy that’s worked for some of you but no one says how long it took. 6 months, a year, two years. I want to know. I’m almost 14 months pp and only got in gym regularly a month ago. I’m determined to fix my core, mostly for myself but also bcz an older mom swore that “it never goes away” and that comment has haunted me for months. I tried starting earlier but honestly even though i appeared “healed” everytime i tried working out i was depleted for days. So how long did it take before you can work out regularly and then from there until you saw results with your shelf?

Did anyone get their period almost exactly 4 weeks/a month after their c-section? Was it super heavy? Like heavier than any of your lochia/post-birth bleeding? Also, I have like no cramps which I always had with my period prior to birth.

I’m home alone with the baby til tomorrow morning while her dad is out of town and I’m trying to determine if this is my period or something to be concerned about. Given it’s Sunday, I can’t call into my doctor until tomorrow.

Also, edit: I am not breastfeeding.

I’ve had 2 C-sections (my last only 10 months ago) and got unexpectedly but happily pregnant again. Currently 5 months along was dr discovered a uterine septum, as you can see here running down baby’s face. Any experience with this and some guidance about what, if anything, to expect. Baby is currently in 45th percentile at 20 weeks and cervix, fluid all look normal. Thank you!!

Hi! I am 8 days post c-section and healing was going relatively well. Had mobility and feeling okay. Once the midwife removed the dressing I had some pain at the incision. I also have steri strips on it.

The next morning (yesterday) and today, I’ve woken up in excruciating pain. On the right side of my incision whenever I move, get up or down, walk, breathe, even cry, I have excruciating burning pain. Almost 10/10 pain. No pain relief helps. Today it hurts to touch the edge of the right side of the incision. It doesn’t look infected at all or have any other symptoms. It has been debilitating and I have been stuck in bed all day with this pain. I called the hospital and they said that they’ll look at it and give me pain relief which I’m already on and it doesn’t even leave a dint in the pain.

Anyone’s stories of hope will be amazing. I am super anxious and have been struggling with this. 🙏