C-Section Recovery: Recovery Tips, Diet and Lifestyle Changes

What to Expect During Recovery After Cesarean Delivery

During your recovery from a C-section, remember that you are also recovering from pregnancy. Here’s what you can expect during the recovery period after C-section delivery:

• Vaginal discharge: The superficial mucous membrane that lines your uterus throughout pregnancy starts to shed after delivery. You’ll have vaginal discharge made up of this membrane and blood for weeks. For the first few days, this discharge will be blood-red and substantial. After that, it will diminish, get more waterier, and turn from pinkish brown to yellowish white.
• Contractions: First few days after a C-section, you can experience contractions, sometimes called afterpains. These contractions often resemble menstrual cramps and help prevent excessive bleeding by compressing the blood vessels in the uterus.
• Tender breasts: A few days after birth, your breasts may become full, tender, and firm as they start secreting milk. Doctors usually recommend frequent breastfeeding on both breasts to avoid or minimize engorgement. If breasts, including the dark circles of the skin around the nipples, become engorged, then latching may be difficult for the baby.
• Hair loss and skin changes: Increased hormone levels during pregnancy affect the ratio of hair that is growing to hair that is resting or shedding. You’ll experience hair loss up to five months after the delivery. After delivery, you can have stretch marks, but they will eventually turn from red to silver. Expect any skin that darkened during pregnancy, such as dark patches on your face, to fade slowly as well.
• Mood changes: A range of strong emotions is triggered during childbirth. The baby blues, sometimes known as a period of depression, anxiety, or feeling inadequate, is something that many new mothers go through. Mood swings, sobbing fits, worry, and trouble sleeping are among the symptoms. Usually, the newborn blues pass within two weeks. Take good care of yourself in the interim. Share your feelings with your partner, family, and friends, and solicit their support.
• Postpartum depression: Postpartum depression may occur if you have sudden, significant mood fluctuations, nausea, extreme exhaustion, and a lack of joy in life soon after giving birth. If you suspect you may be depressed, especially if your symptoms don’t go away on their own, you have problems taking care of your infant or finishing daily duties, or you have thoughts of killing yourself or your child, get in touch with your doctor.
• Weight loss: Immediately following your C-section, you may look like you’re still pregnant. When the baby is born, most mothers lose 13 pounds (6 kilograms), along with the weight of the placenta and amniotic fluid. You’ll lose additional weight as you recover and your body gets rid of extra fluids. After that, you can achieve your pre-pregnancy weight by eating a balanced diet and exercising frequently.

Do’s & Don'ts After Cesarean Delivery (C-section)

Do’s after C-Section

• Take time to sit and bond with your baby.
• Hold a pillow over your incision when you need to cough or laugh.
• Shower normally.
• Rest when you’re tired.
• Walk every day. Walking helps prevent blood clots and constipation.
• Reach out to a lactation consultant if you have trouble breastfeeding.

Don’t after C-Section

• Lift anything heavier than your baby.
• Use tampons or douche until you have your doctor’s permission.
• Take baths until your incision is healed and your postpartum bleeding has stopped.
• Participate in rigorous activity or do core muscle exercises until your doctor clears you for activity.
• Have sex until your doctor says you can.
• Take the stairs repeatedly.
• Soak in public pools or hot tubs.
• Be afraid to ask for help. That might mean asking friends and family to watch the baby while you nap or having them do laundry.