Looking after your c-section wound They will also remove the stitches or staples after 5–7 days, unless you have dissolvable stitches. This does not hurt but it may feel uncomfortable. Once your dressing is off, clean and dry your wound carefully every day.
The time it takes for dissolvable or absorbable stitches to disappear can vary. Most types should start to dissolve or fall out within a week or two, although it may be a few weeks before they disappear completely. Some may last for several months.
Your internal stitches will start to dissolve within a couple of days after the birth. They do not need to be removed. If you have external staples, they are usually removed on day 3. If you would like to go home on day 2, your midwife can remove them during a home visit.
It takes 4 to 6 weeks to recover from a C-section
"The uterus, abdominal wall, and skin need to heal after a C-section. The initial healing occurs within 4 to 6 weeks postpartum," says Malavika Prabhu, MD, a specialist of maternal-fetal medicine at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Gentle exercise, such as walking, will help you recover from your c-section. But avoid anything more active until you have no pain and you feel ready. For example, avoid driving, carrying anything heavy, having sex or doing heavy housework, such as vacuuming, until you feel able to.
The coloration of the c-section scar should start to fade from red to pink, and it should look pretty uniform. The c-section scar should become less tender to the touch as this happens. You shouldn't see anything seeping out of your scar, if so contact your healthcare team to ensure it's healing correctly.
Always sit well back on a supportive chair, your feet should be able to touch the floor in order to support your posture. Use pillows to support your back and to rest your baby on your lap to bring them into a comfortable feeding position. You can then use pillows to support your own arms.
Coughing and Sneezing Will Hurt
Eskridge, who underwent two c-sections of her own, experienced the same thing—and offers some useful advice: “Splinting (holding a pillow against the abdomen over the incision) is very helpful in preventing pain with coughs, sneezes and laughing,” she says.
At the beginning of a caesarean section, six separate layers of the abdominal wall and uterus are opened individually. Once the baby is delivered the uterus is closed with a double layer of stitching.
What Do C-Section Scars Look Like? Since they're usually made below the pubic hairline, you might not see your C-section scar at all. It'll look red or pink for several months but eventually it fades to a pale, flat, thin line.
Postpartum uterine dehiscence is the opening of the incision line after cesarean section. It is a rare clinical condition. Risk factors include diabetes, emergency surgery, infection, suture technique, hematoma on the uterine incision line, and retrovesical hematoma.
Generally absorbable sutures are clear or white in colour. They are often buried by threading the suture under the skin edges and are only visible as threads coming out of the ends of the wound. The suture end will need snipping flush with the skin at about 10 days.
After a C-section, she recommends women take eight weeks off and to avoid heavy activity to prevent complications. “A lot of women still have significant pain at two weeks after,” she said.
Sleeping on your left side aids in optimum blood flow, which is great for your recovering body. You may still need that full-body pregnancy pillow around to support your belly and hips.
Unfortunately, submerging yourself in water is only safe once the incision has healed, which is generally seven to 10 days after surgery. At this point in your C-section recovery timeline, you'll be wearing a pad for postpartum vaginal bleeding, which may last several weeks following delivery.
3 weeks post-cesarean delivery
After you've been home from the hospital for 3 weeks or so, you might be walking for up to 15 minutes, gradually building up the time if it feels good. Keep up your daily pelvic floor exercises too.
Remember, that first 6 weeks you are still dealing with uterus and fluid. For up to 12 weeks, muscles are naturally accommodating and shortening. C-moms can also have mild swelling up to 12 weeks.
Ideally, your doctor will cut through the same scar so that you don't have multiple scars on your abdomen and uterus. Sometimes scar tissue can be difficult to cut through but your doctor should be able to cut through it.
Absorbable stitches do not require removal as the body naturally absorbs them within about 60 days. This type of sutures can be used for layers of skin and tissue which heals quickly. This type of suture is created from materials which gradually dissolves inside the body.
You'll probably feel some soreness in the incision, and you may have bleeding or discharge for up to 6 weeks after the C-section. That's expected. However, the following symptoms warrant a call to your doctor, because they could signal an infection: redness, swelling, or pus oozing from the incision site.
A caesarean is a major operation that carries a number of risks, so it's usually only done if it's the safest option for you and your baby.