c-section hospital stay

[Guest guest]

Ula-

Though I have no practical experience, I think I have to agree.....many

people don't associate c-sections with major surgery...but it is!!! If you

had abdominal exploratory surgery, you would be down for a minimum of 6

weeks....if you have a section, all the rest you can count on are those few

days in the hospital :-) Luckily, when my time comes....our hospital

pretty much lets you stay until you are ready to go home, whether the birth

is natural or section. I did have a friend, whose husband is fishing

buddies with her doc, she hung out for so long they finally had to kick her

out on day 4....she'd had a normal natural birth, but was scared to death

to take the baby home! (btw, he is 2 now and doing great...so evidently

she managed fine)

UD

[Guest guest]

Hi Ula,

Just wanted to add my $0.02 regarding hospital stays. I personally

could not WAIT to get out of the hospital after my c-section. I

think a lot depends on the kind of help you can get/expect/arrange

for at home, compared to the care you receive in the hospital. I

delivered in a very busy " downtown " hospital, not by choice, but

because they had a group of high-risk OB/GYN's. It was a very

large, busy hospital and I ended up in a semi-private room, with

another mom and a screaming baby rooming in with us. This was a

first-time mom with a million visitors and incessant phone calls.

After hearing her " hemmorrhoids " story on the phone for the fifth

time, I was ready to scream. I got absolutely no rest at the

hospital, almost zero sleep for two days. I had two small kids at

home, but with the help of my mom, my DH and MIL, it was MUCH better

than the hospital. I left 48 hours after my surgery, at my

insistence. The only other caveat I would throw in is that I was a

veteran mom - this was my third, so I had the BF thing down pat. I

would really recommend that you stay in the hospital until the baby

is feeding well and you don't have any latch problems etc.

Otherwise, I don't know that they can do much for you that you

couldn't get at home, provided you have someone (or several

someone's) to take care of you and pamper you, like any post-major-

surgery patient deserves

That's just my personal opinion/experience, I think this is really

an issue of personal preference, everyone is different in their

tolerance of a highly structured, medical environment.

Take care,

Lia

UD, mom of 3