C-Section Recovery & Support Blog

Any time you’ve have a surgical incision it’s possible that an infection can occur at the site.  This is true even when you’ve had a c-section.

Typically incision infections are not life threatening, in fact most c-section incision infections are easily remedied, however you want to avoid infection as much as you can because it can be extremely painful and slow down your c-section recovery time.

Not all infections occur because you did something wrong, sometimes those little buggers just get in where they don’t belong, but for the most part however, you can help reduce your risk by paying special attention to keeping the wound clean and dry.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid a c-section infection: Read more »

I wish I had known about belly wraps when I had my c-section.  I was surprised to hear how long they’ve been around.  I guess I was too wrapped up,  no pun intended in taking care of my baby to know about them.

I wish I would have had an abdominal belly wrap after my c-section for easing my incision as well as my internal pain.  In fact most women that use them swear by them.   Read more »

While researching for helpful c-section recovery tips I came across a few posts that I couldn’t resist mentioning.  These articles are my ‘best of’ picks because they are filled with good ideas, both personal and professional.

If you have had a c-section or are expecting to have one these are definitely worth the read.  There are some great golden nuggets here:

C-section Recovery Tip – Avoid Comedies
By Morgan at Adventures in Diapering
http://adventuresindiapering.blogspot.com/2009/05/c-section-recovery-tip.html

Recovering after a C-Section
By Heather of “A Mama’s blog”
http://amamasblog.com/2008/03/28/recovering-after-a-c-section/

How To Get out of bed Post Cesarean
by The labor nurse
http://rebirthnurse.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-get-out-of-bed-post-cesarean.html

Recovering from a Cesarean Birth
By Brenda Minica
http://www.doulasanantonio.com/recovering-from-a-cesarean-birth

Emotional Recovery after a C-Section
By Elizabeth McGee
http://worry-free-c-section.com/blog/c-section-recovery/emotional-recovery-after-your-c-section/

If you’re recovering from a c-section and notice your feet are swollen, don’t panic.

It’s common to experience swollen feet and here are a couple of reasons why this may happen. Read more »

If you’ll be having a c-section, your hospital experiences will be somewhat different than if you delivered vaginally.  Your hospital stay will also be a few days longer as well.

Because you will be having a surgical birth there is a fair amount of preparation that must be done to get ready for surgery.  While the hospital and surgical staff will be doing everything they can to make  your c-section birth as pleasant as possible, knowing what to expect in hospital both during your c-section procedure and in the few days following can help a great deal with stress and anxiety.

Let’s take a look… Read more »

Because having a c-section means abdominal surgery, there is always the risk of infection, in fact there is the risk of both external as well as internal infections that can occur.

One of the things that can considerably slow down your c-section recovery is infection, so understanding how to identify c-section infections that can occur will help you keep the infection from getting worse, which will  limit your pain as well as your c-section recovery time.

External infections

The most noticeable infections are those that you can see. With a c-section, the site of your incision is vulnerable to bacterial infections. In the hospital, the nurses will show you how to properly care for your incision site. When you get home it will be super important to monitor your incision on a daily basis so that any changes that occur are easily noticed.

With an infection at the surgical site, you may notice swelling, redness or fluid coming from the incision. The fluid could be blood if you have reopened your incision in some way. Fluid that looks more like pus signals that there could be an infection in progress.

The area could be warm and/or tender to the touch. If you had staples in your skin, the area will be tender but that will go away as it heals. This tenderness is a result of the infection process. You might also experience some abdominal pain.

If your c-section incision is red and irritated there are things that you can do to help reduce the infection, however when in doubt you should always contact your doctor immediately. He can tell you what is likely going on and if you have to be seen.

Internal infection

Infection can also occur inside your body after a c-section. Remember that it was not only your skin that was cut open during the c-section procedure,  your uterus was also cut. Those internal stitches have to heal in order for your uterus to return to normal.

Unfortunately, you won’t see the same outward signs of infection as you would with you external stitches, but such you might have the abdominal pain. As the body’s white cells rush to fight the infection, you could also develop a fever and chills as a result. If your fever is over 100 degrees and there are no signs of problems at the incision site, something is going on inside your body.

An infection in the bladder can occur occur. Sometimes this happens after having had a catheter. You’ll know something is wrong if you have painful urination or blood in the urine.  Foul-smelling vaginal discharge also indicates that an infection is lurking somewhere such as the uterus.  Both of these types of infections will require contacting your doctor.

C-sections carry with them the same risks and complications as any surgical procedure, so if you sense or recognize that something is not right, contact your doctor immediately.  The quicker an infection can be treated the faster you’ll heal. Prolonged infections can lead to more dangerous complications and seriously delay your c-section recovery.