Thursday 28 April 2016

How long does C-Sect recovery take?

It depends on what "recovery" means to you, but below are my own experiences:


  • 2 days - get off bed to go toilet (forced by gynae to do so, she says it will aid recovery. Also they took off my urine catheter so i had no choice)
  • 10 days - removal of wound dressing, external skin is healed and can shower without feeling pain. Weaned off painkillers.  
  • 2 weeks - no longer need to walk with my hands on my tummy (partially psychological, I believe). No more pain in daily activities, but still cannot really laugh or cough too hard
  • 1 month - binder can be taken off more regularly with less discomfort without it. (before that, I wore the binder 24/7 except when showering - nurses helped put on binder immediately after the operation while I was still in the operation theatre. It was a 1 piece binder that costs $10 from qoo10, verified useful by my gynae. I would recommend a simple binder as there are many other things to do after childbirth! The simpler the binder, the higher the chances you will wear it longer)
  • 3 months - slight feeling when I touch the c-section area. Finally, the skin feels like mine!
  • 6 months - can lie comfortably on my tummy. This is also the time when gynae declares me fit to go for vigorous exercise like swimming and jogging
  • 7-8month - skin on c-section area feels completely normal, senses are completely back. 
  • 1 year - no longer feel pain when i scratch c-section area. meaning skin sensory is back, internal healing is also close to complete
  • >2 years - Doctor's advice for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), which means it takes that long for complete internal healing of the wound. 

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