With pregnancy comes the desires, fears, and excitement for the birthing experience. I was never the type of person who saw myself with an unmedicated or home birth, but I also never saw myself having a C-Section (cesarean). Three children and three C-sections later, I am here to tell you that birth plans are not always set in stone and sometimes the most frustrating part of that is not being fully prepared for what actually unfolds.
My first delivery was an unplanned C-Section after a failed induction. Nothing about the situation was emergent which I was grateful for, but with me being a planner and liking having my ducks in a row, it was hard to end up with a delivery that I was anything but prepared for.
Going into my next two C-Sections, it was much easier going into the delivery knowing how things work and what to expect before, during, and after surgery. Although it is hard to prepare for emergency situations, if you are having a scheduled C-Section these are things that can be helpful as you prepare. Here are 10 things that I wish I had known prior to my first C-Section.
1- You will have to fast prior to surgery
While every doctor and hospital can have different “rules” for this, many will fall within a 6-8 hour window that they will want you to stop eating (and sometimes drinking) before surgery. With my second C-Section (first scheduled one), I was told absolutely no food or water 8 hours before surgery. With my last C-Section which was at a different hospital, I had to stop food 7 hours before surgery, was still allowed water up until the surgery. While this is not fun, if you are like me, your nerves and excitement kind of take your appetite away anyways. I just made sure to eat a hardy meal before I needed to fast so I wasn’t hangry leading up to surgery.
2- You will be given a protocol on how to shower before coming in.
In my experiences, the hospital will call you prior to your scheduled day and will instruct you on how and when to shower. They will want you to use antibacterial soap and will have you wash your entire body with a main focus being on the stomach and lower areas. While my first two deliveries did not have specific soap that was required, my latest one did. I was instructed to use what is called Hibiclens and was told to use it the day before the surgery as well as the morning of.
3- Shaving
Although it is completely up to you on how this happens, just know that your “down there” area will need to be shaved. I know that being 9 months pregnant makes that a daunting and exhausting task, but for most of us, it is more comfortable to have this taken care of at home. No worries if you cannot or did not, as a nurse will shave you during your triage time.
4- You will be asked to arrive several hours before your surgery
For me personally, all of my scheduled C-Sections were scheduled to be done between 7am and 8am. This meant that I needed to be at the hospital to triage by 5am. When they first told me this, I thought they were crazy! In my mind (the mind of someone who had never had any kind of surgery before), I just showed up and had a C-Section. I am here to tell you that, that is not the case!
During your time in triage, they will register you in the hospital if they did not have you do this online prior. They will then do house keeping things like get your weight, check your vitals, get your IV started, and get you changed into a hospital gown and slippers.
While all of this is happening, you will also most likely be hooked up to an NST machine. This is nothing invasive, but just sensors on your belly that will monitor the baby’s heartrate and the contractions (if any) coming from your uterus.
Once all of that is taken care of, you are usually left with about 30 minutes or so to just rest while the NST machine is on and they have fluids going through your IV. I appreciated that for both of my scheduled C-Sections, this time was welcoming interrupted by the anesthesiologist and team as well as the surgical nurse who introduced themselves and asked me if I had any concerns, worries, or questions before going into surgery.
5- You will walk yourself to the OR
While this does not seem like anything big, I am telling you that in the moment, it feels SO STRANGE! I am sure every hospital has different ways of doing this, but both that I have delivered at had me hold my IV bag, wrap a blanket around my back to avoid my gown from opening and flashing everyone around, and walk myself into the OR. With my unplanned C-Section, I was in so much pain from the 26 hours of labor prior that I was distracted and wheeled into the OR. Walking in feeling completely pain free, but also extremely anxious is a surreal feeling that is the perfect description of “iykyk”.
6- The OR is NOT like what you see in the movies and TV Shows
If you have had surgery before, this will probably not apply to you, but for anyone like me who had never had a surgery before, I was quite disappointed when arriving to the OR. I grew up in the Grey’s Anatomy era and when I realized the the OR is not much more than a storage closet with a table in the middle, I was taken back.
There are bright lights, LOTS of medical supplies and devices, but no viewing windows, tall ceilings, or fancy décor.
7- The Spinal and Catheter experiences are not as bad as they sound
One of my biggest sources of anxiety leading up to my C-Sections have always been the thought of getting a spinal. After going through this three times, I can confidently say that the spinal sounds way scarier than it is!
They will have you sit on the OR Table and lean forward as far as you can. I was blessed each time with amazing surgical nurses who stood in front of me and let me hold their hands and squeeze if needed. The anesthesiologist will inject a numbing medicine into your back first which feels like a bee sting. Once that is done, he/she will then inject the spinal block. The best way I can describe this is pressure with a quick “zing” feeling that is not painful, just weird. They will then help you lay on your back and it is crazy how fast you can feel yourself becoming numb!
Once you are numb, is when they will insert your catheter which makes that a seamless and easy process as well. I remember being so nervous that it was going to hurt, but then I was laying on the OR table as they had to physically move my legs apart when I realized that it was going to be anything but a painful experience.
8- You will feel ALOT of pressure and tugging during surgery
Although the spinal will numb you to all of the pain, do not be alarmed when you start to feel a lot of tugging and pulling as the baby is being born. During my first C-Section I about freaked out with this sensation because I was afraid that it meant I was coming unnumbed. I promise that is not the case and it is completely normal. Just know that the more tugging and pulling you feel, the closer you are to meeting your baby!
9- Having a curtain up will probably calm your nerves while stressing you out at the same time
Although I had never had a C-Section before, it was no surprise to me when they put up the blue curtain blocking my view from the surgery. This is typical in most C-Section pictures. I was very grateful because while I know there are women who have the clear curtain because they want to see everything, I was not one of them. I’d rather be in the dark on what happens down there in order to keep my nerves and anxiety in check.
That being said… I never expected that the same curtain that was CALMING my nerves, was also the one that was stressing me out. Once my baby was born, there is a time where I could hear the crying, but could not see anything! Then add in that with my second and third, the gender was a surprise. It was like 60 seconds of pure torture to not be able to see my baby! Just know that if you are like me, you will get to see your baby soon and it feels a lot longer of a time than it actually is.
10- Once baby is born, your surgery is still not over
This may be common sense, but with my first I just assumed that after my baby was born, we would both be wheeled to recovery to snuggle and nurse. That was not the case though. Once the baby is born and they do all the vital checks that they need to, the baby will most likely go with your significant other to recovery (or your room) to wait for you. You will be in the OR for a little while longer as they work to close you up. This time varies with each delivery, but all 3 of mine have fallen within the 5-10 minute range. Once you are closed up, they will move you from the OR table to your bed and will then wheel you to be reunited with your baby.
11- You will be numb for an hour or two after surgery
The spinal is a beautiful thing during surgery, but it worked SO good that I was nervous it would take the day to regain feeling. Take a deep breath and know that it is not a whole day, it is only about an hour or two afterwards. While I am not saying that you will be up walking around two hours after surgery, you can expect to be able to wiggle your toes and shift in bed a little.
12- They will have you standing the same day!
Along those same lines, just know that you will be standing and walking the same day! My last hospital had me up 6 hours after surgery, but the first two waited 8 hours post surgery. This sounds like a super scary task if you think about what your body just went through, but I promise you that it is not that bad. While it is not fun by any means and you will be quite bent over the first few times, I actually thought it felt good to be able to stretch and get out of bed for short bits.
When it is time for you to stand up, remember to go very slow and give your body time to reacclimate to what is happening. It is common to feel a little light-headed. This should not be extreme by any means and your nurse will check in on you about this. Also do not be surprised if you bleed ALOT when standing up. Your nurse will be prepared for this and will be there to help clean you up. You are not bleeding out or in-danger, this is common. Again though, your nurses will monitor all of this to make sure nothing is abnormal.
13- The leg compression devices may be the worst part
Since you are not walking regularly for a while after surgery, they will have leg compression devises on your calves to help prevent blood clots from forming. These tighten and loosen according to the setting they are programmed to. While they are crucial to recovery, they have become my worst enemy. I get extremely claustrophobic with things like that, so after a few hours, I have always begged to have them taken off (and not been successful). My recommendation for those if they bother you is lotion. I found that lotion helped take away some of the discomfort that these caused me.
14- WALK, WALK, WALK!
A very nice nurse gave me this advice after my first C-Section and I was too stubborn to listen to her…. BAD IDEA!! It sounds crazy to tell you to walk a lot after having major abdominal surgery, but I promise you that it makes your recovery so much better! Even just a few steps every so often. After a horrible recovery with my first, I decided to listen and walk. I set a goal that on day two I would walking around the hospital room every so many hours. I kept that goal with my last two C-Sections and I swear that it made a world of difference in both recoveries.
15- Stay on the pain meds
Every hospital and doctor will approach this differently. For me, I was on Tylenol and Motrin at the same time before and after surgery. With those being taken every 8 hours, I was able to keep my pain level before a 4. The one time my nurse forgot about me and I was late for a dose was NOT fun, so when they tell you not to be a hero and take the pain meds…. I recommend following that advice.
If you are finding that meds like that are not enough, the hospitals can give you stronger pain meds. My experience was that I did not need them, but I know everyone is different.
16- You will feel better
A C-Section sounds painful to anyone who is presented with that delivery plan and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t. What I can tell you though is that it is a manageable pain and it does not last forever. For me, my pain typically peaked on day 3 and after that, each day got better and better. You have to be sure to take it easy on your body, rest and drink lots of water, but I promise you that the pain and discomfort does get better faster than you think!
I hope that these 16 things have eased your mind and helped you prepare for your scheduled C-Section. They are the things that I have learned and wish I had known before going into my first one.
