I was extraordinarily uneasy regarding the night after my c-section. Just simply not knowing what to expect is quite overwhelming, to say the least. So, here’s what happened directly after my c-section. I’m unsure whether different hospitals do other processes.
Every 5 Minutes For Half Hour Monitoring:
I’m not entirely sure if this was due to my obstetric haemorrhage or if this is standard practice. However, I was in the side recovery room for around half an hour to have persistent monitoring for half an hour. Every 5 minutes my pulse, blood pressure and oxygen levels were documented. During this time my blood transfusion of my cleaned blood started to be put back into me. At this time I was trying to feed Liara too but of course, my milk didn’t come in right away and I had to hand express colostrum whilst the midwives collected it for me. This is very much the time when you really begin to learn about your baby but more notably, learn how to become a mummy too.
Food & Drinks:
Once you’re in your actual recovery room you’ll be given tea and toast! Which is very much pushed upon you to have regardless of how you feel. I felt sick to the core afterwards but thankfully they popped some anti-sickness in my IV and I was alright again.
Arrive at the Ward:
Once you’ve spent 4 hours in recovery you get moved onto the ward for the night. During this time you have your pads changed regularly by the midwives on the ward. Regular pain killers & monitoring of you & the baby. Of course, due to Liara’s size & neonatal alert she had monitoring every 2 hours until 10 pm that evening then it went to every 4 hours. We saw the paediatricians twice within the first 12 hours and they were consistently happy with her. Once I was on the ward I really looked after and anything I needed help with the assistants and midwives couldn’t have done any more.
Catheter Removed & First Wee:
I had my catheter removed around about 10 pm that evening bear in mind I had Liara at 10:17. I started to feel my legs fully around 9 pm and felt confident enough to be able to stand and do around 10. It’s not as bad as I imagined having it removed and the first wee was hardly anything different to the ordinary. Admittedly, I was so nervous about standing for the first time but once I did and went for a walk to the toilet I was okay again. Yeah, it wasn’t comfortable like it is on your average day but it’s not as bad as people say.
Removal Of All Cannulas:
I didn’t have my cannulas extracted until two days later. But commonly you begin to have all of those bits and bobs removed that evening / early next morning.
Meet The Team From The Surgery:
We had the doctors & surgeons come back around the next morning to talk to me about how the delivery went. They explained how parts of my placenta may not have been fully removed and what to look out for. Then they went on to explain how I haemorrhaged and how much blood I was given back etc. It’s a really nice thing to happen I found as you can ask questions and you just feel like you didn’t miss a thing regardless of being behind the curtain.
Baby Hearing Test & Head to Toe Check:
I think the majority of babies have this prior to going home. Liara didn’t pass any of hearing tests whilst in hospital. We then got a referral to audiology which we’re still under currently. She also had a head-to-toe check by the paediatricians on the ward. Again, I’m not too sure how much of this happened due to Liara’s at the time suspect Trisomy 21 (now confirmed).
Hospital Discharge:
On day 3 we finally got discharged. You have around about a 30 minute discharge with a midwife. They cover all areas for you & for the baby. Some of the things discussed are things not to do with your baby, what to look out for, contraception for yourself & again sharing your entire birth experience. It’s a long quite bizarre time. Some of the things said to you are like people actually do that. It’s wild but so exciting too. At this point, you’ll be given your little red book & just take that everywhere with you & your baby from here on.
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Just a little insight into what you can expect post-c-section
Let’s talk again soon x