To accelerate the recovery of caesarean, a woman should use the postpartum brace to avoid the accumulation of fluid in the scar area, called a seroma, and ingest about 2 to 3 liters of water or other fluids per day. In addition, it is also important to eat foods rich in protein to make healing faster and avoid making too much effort.
The total recovery time for the cesarean section varies from woman to woman, while some women can stand up to hours after surgery, while others need more time to recover, especially if there is some kind of complication during labor.
Post-cesarean recovery is not easy because it is a major surgery and the body will need about 6 months to recover. About 10 to 12 hours after the cesarean section a nurse should indicate that the woman should take a bath, which can be apparently difficult. The woman will probably need help and the nurse or a chaperone may be needed.
You will need help getting in and out of bed, so it will be easier if someone can stay with you to give you the baby when he cries or wants to nurse.
Hospital time
The length of hospital stay for childbirth is usually 3 days, and after this period, if the woman and baby are well, they can go home, but in some cases the two or one of the two may stay a few more days in the hospital to recover from any situation, which can occur if the baby has jaundice, for example.
10 Essential Home Recovery Care
After the hospital discharge, the woman should recover at home and, therefore, it is advised:
- Have extra help, especially in the early days: A woman should avoid efforts, focusing only on her well-being, breastfeeding and baby care. Housekeeping should not be a priority and so any help is welcome.
- Wear a brace: It is advisable to use a postpartum brace to give more comfort, lessen the sensation that the organs are loose within the abdomen and to decrease the risk of seroma in the scar. It is also necessary to use a night absorbent, as there will be a bleeding similar to a heavy menstruation, which can last up to 45 days.
- Putting ice to reduce pain and swelling: It may be helpful to put ice packs on the cesarean scar, as long as it does not become wet. One should place the ice wrapped in plastic bag and napkin leaves leaving to act about 15 minutes, every 4 hours for relief of pain and discomfort.
- Exercise: About 20 days after caesarean it is possible to do light physical activity such as walking or slow running, jogging. Abdominal and hypopressive plank exercises can help strengthen the abdominal muscles faster. Here's how to do the hypopression to lose belly and fight urinary incontinence at the same time.
- Avoid taking weight and driving: Before 20 days it is not recommended to make great physical efforts, nor to pick up weights. When the woman has another child and needs to pick it up on her lap, she should sit down first. It is also not recommended to drive before 3 months after caesarean section to be more attentive and not to be worried or in pain.
- Use healing ointment: After removing the dressing and stitches, the doctor may indicate the use of a cream, gel or healing ointment to help remove the cesarean scar, making it smaller and more discreet. When applying the cream daily it is necessary to do a massage on the scar, with circular movements. You can see more details in this video:
- Eating well: You should prefer healing foods such as eggs, chicken and cooked fish, rice and beans, vegetables and fruits that release the intestines like papaya, to maintain health and the production of high-quality breast milk. Check out our complete breastfeeding guide for beginners. While the baby suckles, one should not diet to lose weight because it can harm milk production.
- Sleeping from the side or belly up: The most suitable position is belly up, with a pillow under the knees to better accommodate the back, if you prefer to sleep on your side should put a pillow between your legs. Whenever you get out of bed you should imagine that you try to suck something with your vagina and only let it go when you're standing.
- Contraceptive method: The pill should be taken again 15 days after delivery but if you prefer another method you should talk to the doctor to know the best, to avoid a new pregnancy before 1 year, because in this case there would be more risks of uterine rupture, which can be very serious.
- Taking Diuretic Teas to Reduce Swelling: After cesarean it is normal to get swollen and to decrease this disorder. Good choices are the chamomile teas, which help to calm the mother and the baby, and the milk thistle tea, which also helps in the production of breast milk. Ginger tea is very stimulating and can make the baby more alert. One should take about 2 to 3 liters of liquids, including sugar-free teas throughout the day.
It is normal to have a change in the sensitivity around the cesarean scar, which may become numb, pinched or burned. This strange sensation can take from 6 months to 1 year to decrease in intensity, but it is normal for some women not to recover completely, even after 6 years of caesarean section.
How to care for the cesarean scar
As for the scar, the stitches should only be removed 8 days after the cesarean section and it can be washed normally during the bath. If the woman is experiencing a lot of pain, she can take the pain reliever prescribed by the doctor.
During bathing it is recommended not to wet the dressing, but when the doctor puts on a waterproof dressing, one can bathe normally, without risk of watering. It should be noted if the dressing is always clean, and if there is a lot of secretion, one should go back to the doctor to clean the area and put on a new dressing.
In addition to recovery being slower, it is also important to remember that cesarean delivery brings greater risks of complications during and after surgery.
Here's how to prevent the scar of the cesarean section from being deep, glued or hard and know how to solve these problems.
Shelter time after cesária
After childbirth you need to wait about 30 to 40 days to have sex again. This waiting time is important so that the injured tissues can heal well before intimate contact, and should not happen before the medical examination visit to avoid vaginal infections and other complications.
