What Should I Expect When Recovering from a Cesarean?

While Recovering from a Cesarean Birth, you can expect to be in the hospital for an extra night beyond what you would usually stay for a vaginal birth. So three nights is typically the norm.

You need to have a recovery time period of 6 weeks, so be sure to stay on top of pain management and get lots of rest. You should also limit physical activity, so if there are stairs in your home, be sure to batch your time to make sure you are only using them 2-3 times a day. Also, do not pick up anything beyond the weight of your baby.

Some Postpartum Red Flags to look out for are heart failure, blood clots or aneurysms, postpartum hemorrhage or postpartum preeclampsia.

You should contact your provider if there is swelling, redness or pain to the incision area, if there is a bad smell from the incision or surgical dressing, if the incision is breaking open, if you feel dizzy, if you have pain or bleeding during urination, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, abnormal vaginal discharge, abnormal or allergic reaction to any medications or if stronger pain medication becomes necessary.