Self Care Ways You Can Aid Recovery After Your C-Section
If you’ve had a c-section or scheduled for one. Pain is inevitable and you'll need to lie in bed for a few days while your incision heals. I’ve had two and it’s the same experience of intense pain and crawl movements for both. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first, second or third, c-section is major surgery. And with all major surgery there’s tons of pain and discomfort. I couldn’t move anywhere for the first twenty four hours and I was happy I didn't. The next twenty four was a struggle to just change my position while in bed. Our bodies are all different and so is our recovery. You may or may not have read about the c-section healing process but what’s never mentioned are ways we as moms can aid our recovery with simple self-care practices. Here's what I did:
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I tried to make it out of bed on the first day after (day two) for a very slow walk. It was literally out of bed to the hospital room door and back - a couple of times. Walking stimulates your organs and prevents blood clot. I made sure to support my abs with my hand. Don’t forget the ‘oh boys’ & ‘oh yeahs’. 😘
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You need to wait 6-8 weeks before you can work out so get clearance from your physician or whomever you saw during pregnancy. In the mean time, you can start with deep core breathing exercises while in bed. Here's how: drawing in your abdominal walls to your spine are 100% safe and actually sends oxygenated blood flow to the c-section area which speeds up healing. The first few times will hurt a bit because your incision is still new. Don't overdo it, just a few deep breathes the first time round.
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Your SCAR…. Again!! Keep it DRY AND CLEAN. Don’t scrub it in the shower; I just took a bath when I was able to and simply let soap wash over it. That’s it.
4. Rest, rest, rest. No SUPERMOM life required. If you're use to doing things yourself laying in bed will feel like a waste as you heal and the pain starts to subside. Plan for help or once home call a few friends/families all the people who promised they would come over. Schedule and let them help as much as possible, so you can get as much rest as possible.
What did you do to aid your healing? Drop me a line here and let me know.
