Cesarean birth is a vastly different birthing experience from vaginal birth and can benefit from preparation.
The first 2 blogs of this cesarean birth detour series discussed the importance of preparing the heart, mind, and physical body for surgical birth despite what your ideal birth plan looks like.
Opening ourselves to the option and preparing the body can be critical to supporting our postpartum healing.
When we make peace with the option we can then focus on preparing our home to support postoperative healing and facilitate independence.
First Week Postpartum Recovery
Post Cesarean Birth Healing
In the first 7-10 days of postoperative healing, BASIC MOBILITY tasks may be both difficult and painful.
During this stage of healing, it can be helpful to utilize pain medications to keep your pain ~4/10 (where 0 is no pain and 10 is emergency room pain). It is unlikely that you will be pain-free so setting the expectation for MANAGED PAIN is more helpful.
Maintaining a pain level of ~4/10 means that you will still feel able to take short in-home walks, change positions frequently for baby care/feeding, and perform deep breathing exercises in upright sitting and standing.
All of these activities will help to prevent common postoperative complications such as pneumonia and blood clots. Strict bedrest is rarely recommended or considered beneficial anymore.
While you may feel resistant to pain medication, it is important to manage pain so you are able to do basic mobility, breathing, and baby care. Planning ahead for postop pain management options can be empowering.
Transitioning from sit>stand can be difficult if the chair is very low and soft or if it doesn’t have arms.
Establishing a comfortable place for you to sit is important and should also consider your ability to independently transition in/out of it.
Transitioning to seated on the floor and laying fully reclined in bed can also pose challenges.
Floor activities may not be advised in the first week following cesarean as the transition off the floor requires tension in the abdominal tissue. When transitioning out of bed at home, you most likely do not have bed rails to assist.
Planning to hug a pillow and log roll prior to pressing up to sit is the advised way to SAFELY MOBILIZE. Some people feel more comfortable in leggings with mild abdominal compression as well.
Keep in mind, that prolonged or excessive abdominal compression as seen with waist trainers or corsets can create pelvic floor dysfunction and restrict healthy breathing so it is not recommended.
This period of difficult mobility is typically short-lived and will not require major home modifications or equipment.
However, preparing for it can allow you to set up “stations” for feeding, changing, etc that will minimize the need for a lot of up and down transfers. Some postoperative restrictions prohibit moms from climbing stairs after cesarean.
Unfortunately, many people have multi-level homes or apartments that they need to access upon discharge from the hospital.
Before setting up a bed downstairs, I’d recommend asking your provider for clarity on this recommendation.
Identify any risks they see with you navigating stairs. You’ll often have to negotiate stairs to enter your residence anyway so feel free to explore your providers recommendations.
Perhaps you can agree on limiting stair negotiation to 1-2x daily (am/pm) in the first week postpartum if the limitation is deemed necessary.
In addition, there is typically a lifting restriction to reduce incisional strain.
If possible, work with toddlers ahead of time at climbing in and out of strollers, wagons, bathtubs, and carseats to support minimal lifting. Discuss this need with your support team so you can adequately plan for outings in the early days.
The lifting restriction is also a great reason to create stations around the house that will contain all or most items needed for efficiency.
Consider also arranging for supportive pet care during the early postpartum period if applicable.
Curious about C-section scar management and mobilization for yourself or your clients? Join us live in our 90 minute C-section scar mobilization webinar or catch the recording/self-paced version on our website.